The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD)-run Sri Kalyana Venkateswara temple at Srinivasa Mangapuram is getting a facelift ahead of the annual ‘Sakshatkara Vaibhavam’ festival slated to be held from July 3 to 5.
According to temple legend, an Archaka named Sundararajan from Kanchipuram had come all the way to the dilapidated temple in Srinivasa Mangapuram in 1940. He recalled a dream in which he had received instructions from Lord Venkateswara to develop the temple and revive its lost glory. After clearing the debris and renovating the temple, he performed the first puja on ‘Ashada Suddha Shashti’, falling on July 11 in the year 1940. The TTD has been observing the event every year since to mark the auspicious occasion.
As a prelude, the traditional cleansing festival called ‘Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam’ was performed on Thursday, where the walls of the inner precincts and the sanctum sanctorum were smeared with ‘Parimalam’, a mixture of sandalwood paste and aromatic substances. The team of Archakas led by Special Grade Deputy Executive Officer V. Varalakshmi and Superintendent Chengalrayalu conducted the cleansing ritual.
