There was a sea of humanity for the rathotsavam at the Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple at Srisailam on Tuesday as part of the Plava nama Ugadi (Telugu New Year’s Day) festivities despite the COVID-19 second wave scare in the State.
The festivities began with Panchanga Shravanam by temple pandit Butte Veerabhadra Daivagnya in the Akkammadevi Mandapam. He predicted abundant rainfall in the current year and that the low-pressure system would help increase the water storage to comfortable levels in the State. More yagnas and homams would be conducted all over the country and the agriculture crops would give good yield in red and sandy soils, he said.
The temple Executive Officer later honoured the Veda pandits and participated in the rathotsavam in the evening by pulling the chariot in the mada streets.
The streets were chock-a-block with devotees who vied with one another to pull the chariot or at least touch the rope. Police had a tough time keeping people away from the way of the chariot, which carried the processional deities of Goddess Bhramaramba and Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy. The four-day festivities will end on Wednesday.
