The Sri Kalyana Venkateswara temple at Srinivasa Mangapuram near Tirupati reverberated with the holy name of ‘Srinivasa’ for thousands of times, as the religious ritual ‘Ashtothara Satakundatmaka Srinivasa Maha Yagam’ began on Thursday.
After the initiatory ritual, ‘Ankurarpanam’, on Wednesday, the Maha Yagam began with seven major ‘Homakundams’ on the dais and 108 on the ground, each of which was handled by a ‘Ritwik’ (scholarly priest). The yagam went on from morning till late in the evening, with more than 150 persons on the job, viz., eight Pradhanacharyas (chief priests), one Upadrashta (monitor), 18 Paryavekshakas (supervisors to handle logistics), 108 Ritwiks and 15 Paricharakas (assistants), apart from the TTD officials and employees to ensure the smooth conduct of the event.
Pradhana Kankana Bhattar (head priest) Sita Ramacharyulu performed the day’s rituals such as ‘Snapana Tirumanjanam’ and ‘Yagashala’ activities.
