Spiritual fervour and gaiety marked the Maha Sivaratri celebrations in the city on Thursday. Devotees thronged the temples of Lord Siva and had darshan from the early hours. Special pujas were performed at the temples to mark the occasion.
Swings were erected on the beach and near Jalaripeta and children were seen enjoying on them. They stayed awake all through the night, in accordance with the tradition in villages as well as many parts of the city.
A huge Siva Lingam, formed with 1.08 crore small Siva Lingams, was the special attraction at R.K. Beach. Former Union Minister T. Subbarami Reddy, along with Visakha Sri Sarada Peetham head Swaroopanandendra Saraswati Swami, performed Kumbhabhishekam.
A large number of devotees formed queues to pour holy water on the Lingam. Special counters were set up to distribute prasadam and water to devotees. The is the 36th annual Kumbhabhishekam being organised under the aegis of Mr. Subbarami Reddy.
The entire premises of Sri Sathya Sai Prema Sadan Mandir at MVP Colony wore a festive look and vibrated with the chanting of the Vedas. The programme began with Ganapati Pooja, followed by Mahanyasa Poorvaka Ekadasha Rudrabhishekam. The teams of Sri Sathya Sai Seva organisations of the city chanted Namakam and Chamakam on the occasion.
Abhishekam was performed to Spatika Lingam and the powerful Sri Chakram simultaneously.
Abhishekam, Bilvarchana and Kunkumarchana were also performed. The event concluded with Maha Mangala Aarti and distribution of prasadam.
Later in the evening, the celestial wedding of Goddess Parvathi with Lord Siva was also performed.
State president of SSSSO S.G. Chalam and City Samithi convener P.R.S.N. Naidu participated.
