The annual ‘Rathasaptami’ festival was celebrated amidst a sea of humanity on Friday at the famous hill temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala.
The north-west corner of the hill temple witnessed a chock-a-block situation with tens of thousands of devotees thronging the place since the early hours of the day to catch a divine glimpse of the first rays of the Sun falling on the feet of the Lord on the golden Surya Prabha Vahanam.
Daily rituals advanced
The daily rituals were advanced by a couple of hours and the processional deity of Lord Malayappa Swamy mounted atop the exquisitely decorated golden Surya Prabha Vahanam was taken out of the main temple complex even before the break of dawn signalling the ceremonial commencement of the mega festival.
The entire temple wore a festive look and the air was electrified with the chantings of ‘Govinda namam’ by the devotees who went into rapture as the procession reached the pre-designated point.
Devotees were enthralled at the hide and seek game as the Sun tried to emerge out of the clouds that dominated the morning sky and went into spiritual exaltations
as the first rays of the Sun touched the lotus feet of the deity.
Witnessing the celestial moment, thousands of devotees lit the camphor and offered ‘Harati’ to the processional deity standing at their respective places while the students of the SV Veda Pathasala read out ‘Aditya Hridayam’ in the praise of Lord Suryanarayana.
This was followed by the procession of the deity on various ‘vahanams’ in different intervals that lasted till in the night.
The TTD had made elaborate arrangements for the supply of free food packets and drinking water sachets to the thousands of devotees who preferred to remain on the open top granite steps all along the mada streets encircling the sacred shrine all through the day.
