Heavy rush at temples on last Karthika Somavaram

‘Vanamahotsavams’ and ‘Vanabhojanam’ are organised at several places. A special puja was held at Sri Mulasthaneswara Swamy temple located at Mulapet in Nellore. Devotees from Nellore town and neighbouring districts took part in the festivities.

Devotees offer prayers at Mugileeswara Temple at Mogili near Chittoor on Monday.

Thousands of devotees thronged temples of Lord Siva across the State on Monday (‘Kartika Somavaram’), which is the last one in the auspicious Kartika Masam, and performed special rituals and ‘Vanamahotsavams’ organised on the occasion drew huge crowds. ‘Vanabhojanams’ were also organised at many places with the active involvement of the Forest and Tourism Departments.

Thousands of devotees lined up for ‘darshan’ at temples of Lord Siva all over Chittoor district on Monday which signalled the start of Karthigai month of Tamil almanac while the occasion marked the conclusion of four Kartika Somavarams in the Telugu calendar. Chittoor district, from Kuppam to Satyavedu, holds substantial Tamil population though the Telugus too celebrate Karthigai month. The temples were open in early hours and continued till late in the evening. At Mogili, a large number of devotees worshipped at the temple of Lord Mogileeswara. The hillock temples of Siva at Musilipedu, Pakala, Puttur and Madanapalle drew massive crowds.

A special puja was held at Sri Mulasthaneswara Swamy temple located at Mulapet in Nellore. Devotees from Nellore town and neighbouring districts took part in the festivities. Sri Rajarajeswari Devi Temple, Sri Irukalamma Parameswari temple and some other temples were richly decorated marking the occasion. Various colony associations organised ‘Vanabhojanam’.

 Devotees thronged Tripurantakam in Prakasam district, the abode of Lord Tripurantakeswara, the eastern gateway to Srisailam, to perform special pujas in connection with Kartika Masam. Similarly, the ancient temple of Lord Ramalingeswara Swamy at Santharavuru near Kadavakuduru on Ongole-Chirala Road witnessed a heavy rush of devotees as also the Siva temples in Chirala, Perala and Vetapalem. Padi puja was performed at Ayyappa temple near Mangamoor Donka here late on Sunday. Ayyappa devotees from far and near flocked the temple abutting the Rangarayudu Cheruvu to offer prayers to Manikanta to mark the opening of Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala for Mandala puja.