Srisailam temple was abuzz with pilgrim rush on the first Sunday of Karthika month and they had darshan of the presiding deities after taking a holy bath at Pathalaganga on Sunday.
Expecting the pilgrim rush, temple authorities opened the temple at 2.30 a.m., performed Suprabhatha seva, parathakala pooja and maha mangalaharathi at 3 a.m. and permitted sarva darsanam and arjitha seva thereafter. Tickets were not issued for Suprabhatha seva and arjitha sevas owing to the heavy turnout of devotees.
During Karthika month, pushkara harathi would be performed on all the four Mondays. Omkara harathi, Nagaharathi, Trisoola harathi, Nandi harathi, Surya harathi, Chandra harathi, Kumbha harathi and Nakshatra harathi (Nava harathis) would be performed to Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy and Sri Bhramaramba Devi and to the pushkarini at 6.30 p.m. on Monday after performing pooja, according to Srisailam temple executive officer Narayana Bharat Gupta.
Laksha deepotsavam
Laksha Deepotsavam would be held at the temple pushkarini for prosperity of the people and about 100 temple employees were drafted to make arrangements. The devotees can light oil lamps free of charge, he said.
In cultural programmes, Perani Satyanarayana Singh and troupe of Suryapet would perform Perani Lasya nartanam dance. Pushpanjali, Ganapati gadya, sandhya thandavam, Ananda narthana and other programmes would be performed by Spoorthi, Sanjana, Sowmya, Sai Sindhu and Sivani.
A food festival would be held all through Karthika month till November 18 in the parking place near Gauri Sadan and 10 stalls would be put up, Mr. Gupta said.