Devotional fervour, gaiety mark ‘Chandanotsavam’

Thousands of devotees worshipped the presiding deity of Simhachalam, Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, in his ‘nijarupa’ during the annual ‘chandanotsavam’ here on Wednesday.

In keeping with the tradition, the hereditary trustee of the temple, P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, was the first to have darshan of the deity. He offered ‘pattu vastrams’ and sandalwood to the deity at around 2 a.m. He was accompanied by his family members.

On behalf of the State government, Deputy Chief Minister K.E. Krishnamurthy, who also holds the Endowments portfolio, offered the ‘pattu vastrams’ to the deity.

Deputy Chief Minister N. Chinarajappa, Ministers Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Kollu Ravindra, MPs, MLAs, and former MP Pradeep Kumar Deo were among those who had darshan early.

TTD offering

On behalf of the TTD, a team led by Executive Officer A.K. Singhal and JEO K.S. Srinivasa Raju presented a pair of ‘silk vastrams’ to the presiding deity. Sri Swaroopanandendra Swamy of the Sarada Peetham worshipped the deity.

Actor Rajendra Prasad also offered prayers to the deity. Executive Officer K. Ramachandra Mohan received the dignitaries. Later, darshan under the free, VIP, protocol, ₹1,000, ₹500, and ₹200 categories began.

Mr. Mohan took exception to the police letting the devotees in groups through the VIP gate, and conveyed the problems caused to other devotees to the officials present there.

Auspicious occasion

Thousands of devotees from the neighbouring States too, notably Odisha and Chhattisgarh, thronged the temple for the ‘nijarupa’ darshan available only on ‘Vaisakha Suddha Tadiya’.

Special arrangements were made for the differently abled persons. The ‘nijarupa’ darshan would conclude at night, after which layers of sandalwood paste would be applied again on the deity. Earlier, after ‘suprabhatam’ at midnight, priests removed the sandalwood paste using small gold and silver spades. ‘Abhishekam’ was performed with water from the Gangadhara . APSRTC plied special buses .