The Sundarakanda Patanam was solemnised at the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara on Tuesday with the mass recitation of 211 hymns from the sacred Ramayana.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Additional Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy said that the recitation was conducted for the well-being of all.
The TTD had earlier embarked on a 62-day long Dhanvantri Maha Mantra Parayanam at the advice of Vedic pundits and the Akanda Sundarakanda was aimed at seeking relief from the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
As many as 108 Veda pundits of the Dharmagiri Veda Patasala, in addition to 58 scholars from the Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidya Peetham, besides the faculty of SV Vedic University and Veda Parayanamdars of SV Institute of Higher Vedic Studies, took part in the programme that lasted for over 90 minutes at Nadaneerajan mandapam in front of the hill temple.
TTD JEO P. Basanth Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of RSVP Acharya Muralidhar Sharma, DVVP principal K.S.S. Avadhani, OSD of SVVHSI Vibhishana Sharma and TTD Asthana Musician Dr. Garimella Balakrishna Prasad graced the occasion.