For the first time ever, the auspicious Varalakshmi Vratham conducted on July 31 this year at the Tiruchanur Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple will go virtual, with devotees getting an opportunity to take a glimpse and participate in the ritual online.
In view of the COVID restrictions, the festival will be conducted in private. However, heeding to the request from a section of the devotees, the TTD has decided to live telecast the holy event on Sri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel (SVBC) from 10 am to 12 noon. The devout can participate in the ritual by sitting at their home.
Tickets for the event will be made available on the TTD’s website from 5 pm of July 22 to 5 pm of July 30, which can be booked on a payment of ₹1,001. The participants who book the tickets will be given a set, including ‘utthariyam,’ a blouse piece, kumkum packet, bangles and prasadam offered in the special Puja, which will be sent through India Post (not for overseas devotees). The ‘gotra’ of devotees will be mentioned during the ritual and the same written on paper will be placed at the holy feet of the presiding deity. Participants can take the ‘sankalpam’ (vow) while watching the live event and get the blessings in the virtual mode.
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The TTD management has clarified that even local devotees, including the residents of Tiruchanur, will not be allowed into the temple during the event. The authorities have also reiterated that no ‘arjitha seva’ or any other ritual has been revived either at the Tirumala Srivari temple or any other local temple.