Thousands of devotees thronged the historic Lord Chennakesava Swamy temple here for ‘Uttara Dwara Darshan’ on the auspicious Vaikunta Ekadasi on Friday.
Wearing face masks, devotees stood in a serpentine queues right from the dawn. Chants of Govinda namam filled the air as the northern entrance of the temple was opened for darshan by priests amid the chanting of vedic hymns. Huge crowds were witnessed at the Sri Venkateswara temple at Srigiri.
In Nellore district, devotees arrived in large numbers at various Vaishanative temples on the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadasi. They had ‘Uttara dwara darshan’ at Sri Talpagiri Ranghanadha Swamy temple at Ranganayakulapeta on the southern bank of the Penna river.
Special Correspondent from Tirupati adds: Spiritual ecstasy pervaded at the temples on Friday on the auspicious occasion of Vaikunta Ekadasi. The devotee turnout was higher than expected in most of the temples governed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in and around Tirupati.
At Sri Kalyana Venkateswara temple in Srinivasa Mangapuram, the ‘Vaikunta dwara darshan’ began at 4 a.m. and the devotees were allowed till 7 p.m., in view of the COVID-19 protocols.
Restricted ritual timings
The temple activities were restricted between 3.30 a.m. and 9 p.m. at Sri Govindaraja Swamy temple, which also witnessed a higher footfall when compared to the previous months.
The temples dedicated to Sri Padmavathi Ammavaru (Tiruchanur), Sri Kodandarama Swamy, Sri Prasanna Venkateswara temple (Appalayagunta), Kalyana Venkateswara (Narayanavanam), Sri Venugopala (Karvetinagaram), Sri Vedanarayana (Nagalapuram), Sri Pattabhirama (Valmikipuram) and Sri Kodandarama (Vontimitta), scattered around Tirupati, were tastefully decorated for the occasion.
Staff Reporter from Srikakulam and Vizianagaram adds: Religious fervour marked the Vaikunta Ekadasi as devotees thronged the Vaishnavite temples in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts on Friday.
The temples of Lord Venkateswara Swamy and Sri Astalakshmi in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts wore festive look with the flower decoration and illuminations.
Devotees thronged the temples from the early hours to have darshan of the presiding deities through the Uttara Dwaram. Govindanama Smarana Brindam performed special prayers. Devotees sought Lord Balaji’s blessings to check the spread of coronavirus pandemic, said Govindanam Smarana Brindam founder Mahanti Srinivasa Rao.
‘Govindanama japam’
Hundreds of devotees participated in ‘Govindanama Smarana Japam’ on Vaikunta Ekadasi.
TTD Dharma Prachara Parishad member Baratam Kameswara Rao congratulated Mr. Mahanti Srinivasa Rao for involving youngsters in the japam. Astalakshmi Sameta Aishwarya Venakteswara Swamy temple in Vizianagaram witnessed a huge rush of devotees from the dawn.
All arrangements were made in strict adherence of the COVID-19 protocols, said temple trustees Durga Balaji and D. Umadevi.
The temples under the purview of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) , Kalyana Venakteswara Swamy temple on the Ring Road also witnessed heavy rush.