Hundreds of devotees from far off places made a beeline for the city to relinquish the ‘Bhavani Deeksha’ observed by them for 21 or 41 days.
Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri as well as the surroundings downhill turned into a sea of red, with the devotees of all age groups thronging the shrine on Sunday, the last day of ‘viramana’ (relinquishment).
About 80,000 devotees had darshan of the presiding deity on Sunday. During the last three days, an estimated 3.5 lakh devotees had darshan of Godess Kanaka Durga. The vicinity of Indrakeeladri reverberated with chants and slogans ‘Bhavani Mata ki Jai’, ‘Jai Bhavani Jai Jai Bhavani’ as the devotees gathered to relinquish their ‘deeksha’. The devotees, after taking a holy dip in the Krishna, made a beeline for the temple from the early hours.
‘Giri pradakshina’
The devotees went around the Indrakeeladri through the narrow streets and busy roads surrounding the hill shrine chanting names of the Goddess. Circumambulation of the Indrakeeladri (Giri pradakshina) is mandatory for those who take the deeksha.
They offered special pujas to the Goddess, marking the relinquishment. Special pujas were performed at the temple to mark the ‘deeksha viramana’ ceremony. The ‘Bhavani Deeskha Viramana’ is the second biggest annual event of the Kanaka Durga temple after Dasara.
The temple administration has arranged queues from the Vinayaka temple on the Canal Road for the convenience of the devotees.
