‘Dwajarohanam’, signalling the commencement of the nine-day annual Brahmotsavams, was performed at the temple of Lord Venkateswara here on Thursday.
The sacred yellow cloth bearing the imprint of Lord Garuda was ceremoniously hoisted atop the ‘Dwajasthambam’ (flagpole) inside the temple.
The inner portals of the hill temple was abuzz with a slew of spiritual activities post noon in connection with the festival.
After the completion of the mandatory religious formalities, the flag was hoisted in the auspicious ‘Meena lagnam’ between 5.10 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. amid chanting of hymns from sacred texts by Vedic scholars to the rhythmic beat of the temple drums.
For the second year in a row, the annual event is being celebrated on a low-key note in the backdrop of the much-feared third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the TTD resolving to limit the festivities to the inner precincts of the temple, the procession of ‘dwaja patam’, along with ‘parivara devathas’ such as Anantha, Chakra, Garuda and Lord Viswaksena, ahead of the ‘Dwajarohanam’ ceremony, was confined to the ‘Vimana prakaram’ area.
Earlier in the day, ‘ekanta Thirumanjanam’ was performed to Lord Malayappa and his two consorts followed by ‘koluvu’ and ‘panchanga sravanam’, in addition to special religious functions at the ‘yagasala’ inside the temple.
Later in the night, ‘Pedda Sesha vahana seva’ was performed at the Kalyanotsava Mandapam.
All the religious formalities relating to the ‘vahana seva’ were carried out to the deity mounted atop the seven-hooded golden king serpent in accordance to the tenets laid down in ‘Agama sastras’.
Prominent among those who took part in the celebrations included both the senior and junior pontiffs of the temple, TTD Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy, Executive Officer K.S. Jawahar Reddy, Additional Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy, and Chief Vigilance and Security Officer Gopinath Jatti.
