Thousands of devotees thronged temples of Lord Siva across the State on the auspicious occasion of ‘Karthika Somavaram’ on Monday and performed special rituals. After a holy dip in the river Krishna and tanks of various temples in the early hours, they lined up for darshan of the God.
The Patha Sivalayam at One-town and many other temples in Vijayawada were packed from morning as a huge number of devotees vied with one another to have a glimpse of the God. The Malleswara Swamy temple atop Indrakeeladri attracted huge crowds.
The historic temple of Draksharama in East Godavari district and some other temples there were brimming with devotees. The temples reverberated with chants of ‘Om Namah Sivaya’. Devotees took a dip at Pushkaraghat and Kotilingala Revu in Rajahmundry and Kotipalli Revu at Kotipalli where river Godavari merges with the sea before dawn. ‘Sahasra Bilwarchana’, ‘Maha Rudrabhishekam’ and ‘Chandihomam’ were performed in the temples.
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Siva temples all over Chittoor district witnessed heavy influx of devotees from early hours. Hundreds of women worshipped at Lord Siva temple at Srikalahasti, the famous
Marking the occasion, local people trekked the hillocks of Battinayya Kona and Sadasiva Kona and performed special pujas at the temples. Hundreds of devotees took bath at the popular waterfalls of Talakona, Kailasakona and Moolakona in the district. The Siva temples at Yogimallavaram, Chittoor, Mogili, Chippili, Gudimallam, Surutupalle, Ramagiri and Bugga witnessed special pujas.