Thousands of devotees in erstwhile Nalgonda thronged several Vaishnavite temples for darshan of the deity on Friday, which marked the significance of Mukkoti Ekadasi or Vaikunta Ekadasi, an auspicious day as per the Hindu calendar.
Devotees at the Yadadri-Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple were in queues as early as at 5 a.m., for the Uttara Dwara Darshan that began at 6.43 a.m. and proceeded till 9.30 a.m. along with Ubhaya Darshan. The temple was opened at 3 a.m. Vaikunta Dwara Darshan at the Pathagutta temple continued till 10 a.m.
Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council Nethi Vidyasagar along with officials and temple executive officer N. Geetha offered prayers. Starting with Mukkoti Ekadasi, officials said the six-day Adhyayanotsavam rituals with special deity alankaram and an avataram on each day will be conducted.
In Suryapet, Energy Minister G. Jagadish Reddy and Rajya Sabha member B. Lingaiah Yadav participated in special prayers at the decorated Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple. Popular temples such as the Sri Lakshmi Chennakesava Swamy Devasthanam at Pillalamarri and the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy tempe at Mattapally along the Krishna river in Huzurnagar also witnessed large number of devotees.
