VISAKHAPATNAM:  There was no fanfare and fervour, that used to be the hallmark of Chandanotsavam of Sri Varahalakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple atop Simhachalam, on Sunday.

May be for the first time in the history of the temple, the famous Chandana Yatra was celebrated devoid of any devotee rush as except temple priests and officials, no one was allowed.

Executive officer Venkateswara Rao offered silk clothes to the deity on behalf of the State government. Temple trust board chairperson Sanchaita Gajapati Raju had the first to have darshan of the deity.

The rituals began with ‘suprabhatam’ in the early morning and after that priests removed the sandalwood paste from the idol using small gold and silver spades.

‘Abhishekam’ was performed with water from the Gangadhara. Later, Sanchaita had the ‘nijarupa’ darshan of the deity. The morning rituals were over in less than three hours.

In the evening, ‘sahasra ghatabhishekam’ was performed to the deity. After which layers of sandalwood paste was applied on the deity.

Earlier, preparation of sandalwood paste (chandanam) for covering the idol of the presiding deity after His ‘nijarupa darshan’ started one week ahead of Akshay Tritiya.

The executive officer told TNIE that neither devotees nor VIPs were allowed for ‘nijarupa darshan’ of the deity following a decision taken by the government due to lockdown.

He said that even the ghat road and steps route were closed so that nobody would come to the temple.

“The morning rituals concluded after the trust board chairman had darshan of the deity. After the application of sandalwood paste on the deity, the temple was closed. There were only 30 people,” the EO said.