Religious fervour marks ‘Punarvasu Utsav’ in Melkote

Devotees from other States also attend

Mandya Karnataka India 20_January_2019 : Varieties of fruits offered to the 10th century social reformer Sri Ramanujacharya at Melkote on Sunday.
 The annual ‘Punarvasu Utsava’, to commemorate 10th century social reformer Sri Ramanujacharya’s arrival in Melkote, was observed at the historical temple village Melkote of Pandavapura of Mandya district amidst great religious ecstasy on January 20, 2019.

The annual ‘Punarvasu Utsav’, commemorating 10th century social reformer Sri Ramanujacharya’s arrival in Melkote, was observed at the temple village in Pandavapura on Sunday.

Hundreds of devotees from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh attended the event.

According to traditional believers, Lord Cheluvanarayana Swamy’s idol was buried under an anthill in Melkote and Ramanujacharya retrieved it. The idol was installed after performing abhishekas using milk and water from the nearby kalyani .

Several rituals were performed throughout the day. Archaks started the performance of various pujas in the temple at 4.30 a.m. The Vangeepuram family offered a variety of fruits, dry fruits and flowers in dozens of plates to perform the puja.

Later, Sri Ramanujacharya’s idol was taken around in a grand procession of ‘Pushpa Pallaki’ through the main streets of the village.

The temple authorities have been organising ‘Punarvasu Utsava’ every year for the past nine centuries, according to sources at the Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple.