Spiritual fervour and pageantry marked the ‘Vaikunta Ekadasi’ celebrations held on a grand scale coinciding with the New Year’s Day at Sri Sitramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam on Thursday.
Hordes of devotees flocked to the temple from the early hours of the day and witnessed the holy rituals performed by the priests prior to the ‘Uttara (Vaikunta) Dwara Darshanam’ ceremony in the shrine.
The festivities commenced with the recitation of Tirunama Sankeertanam and Sri Vaikunta Ekadasi Vaibhavam Pravachanam by the temple priests. It concluded with Uttara Dwara Darshanam, the mega religious event.
Spiritual ecstasy pervaded the colourfully illuminated precincts of the entire temple complex with devotees chanting Jai Sri Ram slogans during the ceremony.
The devotees vied with each other to have a glimpse of the utsav idols of Lord Rama, His consort Sita and brother Lakshmana mounted atop the tastefully-decorated vahanams on the occasion.
Endowments Minister A. Indrakaran Reddy, Roads & Buildings Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, Mahabubabad MP A. Sitaram Naik and Collector K. Ilambarithi among others were present.
The devotees entered the temple through the Uttara Dwaram and offered prayers to the deity soon after the ceremony.
