Maha Sivaratri festival was celebrated with religious fervour in Krishna district and lakhs of devotees had ‘darshan' of Lord Siva in Siva temples since dawn on Monday.
All the Siva temples – Eeswara, Someswara, Bheemeswara, Ramalingeswara Swamy, Malleswarudu, and Omkareswara devastanams – reverberated with the chant of ‘Om Namasivaya', ‘Hara Hara Mahadeva', ‘Shambo Siva Shankara'.
The shrines were decorated with ‘thoranams' and ‘mandapams' and the flexi boards of Lord Siva and his consort Parvathi Devi were erected at several places. The temple managements made elaborate arrangements for the proper darshan of pilgrims attending Sivarathri utsavams.
Special pujas were performed at Mutyalampadu, Iluru, Kudali, Ibrahimpatnam and other Siva temples.
‘Punya snanalu'
Thousands of devotees had ‘punya snanalu' (holy dip) at the bathing ghats in the Krishna. The devotees had ‘darshan' of Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy on ‘Indrakeeladri'. The temple management was celebrating Shivaratri Mahotsavams in which devotees from all over the state were present.
The Endowments officials arranged barricades for the convenience of the pilgrims. Police protection has been arranged at the bathing ghats and at Sri Durga Malleswarla Swamy Devastanam and the APSRTC operated ‘Sivaratri Specials' to Vijayawada from various districts.
Serpentine queues
Long queues were seen since early morning and the temples were packed with the pilgrims. Devotees performed ‘akhanda deeparadhana', ‘Lingarchana', ‘Ksheerabhishemams' and performed special pujas to Sri Parvathi Ramalingeswara Swamy at Yenamalakuduru.
The priests performed ‘kalyanotsavam' of the presiding deity at Sri Parvathi Ramalingeswara Swamy at Munigiri in Yanamalakuduru village on the occasion of Maha Sivarathri.
The temple was illuminated and the staff arranged special counters for distributing ‘prasadams', said temple Executive Officer D. Subramanyam.
Festive atmosphere was seen in Yanamalakuduru and the villagers arranged ‘prabhalu' in the streets and performed pujas to ‘Siva Parvathulu' amid blowing of trumpets. The ‘kolatams', orchestra, ‘bakthi bhajans' and other cultural programmes enthralled the pilgrims in the streets.
The hill shrine of Kotappakonda (Sri Trikoteswara Swamy) and Amaravathi (Sri Amaralingeswara Swamy) witnessed a heavy rush of devotees.
Similarly, the popular temples of Lord Siva at Pedakakani (Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy), Guttikonda, Govada (Sri Balakoteswara Swamy) and others attracted huge crowds. Sangameswaralayam at Sangam Jagarlamudi is another temple visited by devotees in large numbers.
Devotees lined up in queues from the early in the morning and the rush peaked at night. Special rituals were performed invoking the blessings of the Lord.
Siva temples burst at their seams as crowds milled from every nook and corner.
The number of devotees who converged in Kotappakonda and Amaravathi crossed a few hundred thousands. Some devotees fainted for want of drinking water as the day temperatures started rising rapidly.
The arrival of VIPs at both the prominent temples caused inconvenience to the common devotees as they were held up in the queues for several hours. But for these glitches, there was no untoward incident as the police made elaborate security arrangements under the supervision of SPs A. Ravi Chandra (Rural) and S. Syam Sundar (Urban).
Volunteers
Some service organisations distributed tamarind rice and butter milk to the devotees.
Volunteers of various organisations helped the police in crowd control.
The Police Department maintained high alert as the festivities at Kotappakonda will continue for a dew days more.
Tight security was provided for maintaining law and order.
