Devi Sarannavaratri festivities commenced with religious fervour and gaiety in Srisailam temple on Tuesday.
Temple priests and Vedic pundits performed Mahaganapati puja, kankana puja and sported deeksha vastrams in ruthvigvaranam programme and performed punyahavachanam, vastu puja, mantaparadhana, invoked navagraha devatas and Chandi kalasa sthapana, Siva sankalpam and Chandeeswara puja.
Sri Bhramarambha Devi was decorated in Saila Putri alankaram, wherein she held a trident in one hand and a lotus on the other. Bhrungi Vahana Seva and puja were performed by placing utsav idols of Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy and Sri Bhramaramba Devi on it, followed by gramotsavam. Temple Executive Officer K.V. Sagar Babu and his wife participated in the festivities.
Sivalenka Prakasa Rao delivered a discourse on Devi Bhagavatham. Vani Sneha Bharati Sangeeta Academy, Hyderabad rendered devotional songs and Kanchibhatla Venkataramana of Vijayawada rendered a Harikatha in the evening.
In Chittoor district, thousands of devotees thronged the hillock of Boyakonda, the abode of goddess Gangamma, on the first day of the nine-day Brahmotsavams, and worshiped the goddess in the attire of Bala Tripura Sundari. Meanwhile, the Navaratri celebrations commenced on a grand scale at various temples in Chittoor town, particularly at the Durga temple.
In Prasakam district, Ammavari temples were agog with activity. The celebrations began with chanting of Vedic hymns at the historic star-shaped temple of the goddess Tripurasundaridevi at Tripurantakam, one of the gateways to Srisailam. Devotees thronged the temple to offer worship to the goddess decorated as Sri Balatripurasundari.
