Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri has been decked up for the nine-day Dasara festival that will commence on Wednesday.
The temple authorities have made elaborate arrangements to mark the celebrations with a budget of about ₹8.26 crore. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is expected to present silk robes to presiding deity on Moola Nakshatram day.
Arches have been erected at different parts of the city welcoming pilgrims to the temple for the festival. Besides arranging lights at bathing ghats. The shower baths, toilets, information centres, dress changing rooms, medical aid etc would be available at the ghats.
The temple management has made arrangements for supplying water sachets and extending medical assistance to devotees in the queue. Milk would also be supplied to the devotees visiting the temple. Queue lines from Vinayaka temple and Kummaripalem Centre were erected.
The temple priests will perform ‘snapana’ to the presiding deity at 3 a.m. on Wednesday. The temple will be thrown open for devotees up to 11 p.m. The temple is expecting a rush of 15 lah devotees this year.
The festival concludes with celestial boat ride of goddess Kanaka Durga and her consort Malleswara Swamy on Vijaya Dasami.
The temple has made arrangements for tonsuring at Sitamma vari paadalu. The Padmavati and Krishnaveni ghats were spruced up for the devotees coming from far off places in trains and buses.
The queue lines would start from Vinayaka temple on canal road. The two queue lines that begin near Vinayaka temple would split into five queue lines near Durga ghat. Another queue line would be added from Om turning atop Indrakeeladri for ₹300 ticket holders.
Apart from free ‘darshan’, the temple authorities are making arrangements for ticket entry also. In addition, the temple is forming a separate queue line from Kummaripalem Centre to facilitate the devotees coming from Bhavanipuram, Ibrahimpatnam and other areas abutting NH-9.
Prasadam counters
The temple has made arrangements to sell ‘laddu’ and ‘pulihora prasadam’ at 13 counters downhill of Indrakeeladri. In addition, one counter each at the bus stand and railway station would be opened for the convenience of long-distance pilgrims visiting the temple.
With a view to providing free food to thousands of devotees the temple, ‘anna prasadam’ would be provided at Sringeri Mutt on Arjuna Street.
The ‘prasadam’ would be offered from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The temple has made arrangements for break ‘darshan’ for VIPs during the festival. The timings are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Special ‘kumkumarchana’ will be performed on the sixth floor of Mallikarjuna Mahamandapam. The ‘archana’ will be performed for processional deities. ‘Chandi Yagam’ would be performed at Yagasala near Malleswara Swamy temple.
Bhavani deeksha
For relinquishment of Bhavani deeksha, the temple is making arrangements for ‘homagundam’ near stairway of the temple. Last year, about two lakh devotees relinquished ‘deeksha’.