‘Koil Alwar Thirumanjanam’ was performed on Tuesday at the temple of Lord Venkateswara amid religious ecstasy.
The ritual was performed as a prelude to the annual Brahmotsavams scheduled to commence from October 7.
All the idols of the ‘parivara’ deities were temporarily removed from the sanctum sanctorum, and the main deity was provided with a water-proof covering.
A paste containing a mixture of sandalwood powder, refined camphor, high quality turmeric, vermilion and other herbal ingredients that act as a disinfectant was applied to all the walls, pillars and the roof inside the sanctum sanctorum and in various sub-temples existing within the main temple complex.
Hundreds of employees headed by TTD Executive Officer K.S. Jawahar Reddy and Additional Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy took part in the cleansing ritual that lasted for over four hours.
The darshan lines that had been interrupted in the morning were restored soon after completion of the ritual.
‘Darbha’ mat
Meanwhile, the mat and rope made out of the sacred ‘darbha’, a tropical grass scientifically known as Desmotachya bipinnata, was taken out in a grand procession and handed over to the temple authorities for use in the annual Brahmotsavams.
While the mat is woven around the pedestal of the Dwajasthambam (flagpole) inside the temple, the rope is used in the hoisting of the temple flag as a part of the ‘Dwajarohanam’ on October 7 signalling the commencement of the nine-day festival.
The forest workers had worked for over 10 days in making the mat measuring 7 metres in length and 2 metres in breadth and the 212-ft.-long rope using the ‘darbha’ that was specially sourced from Chellur village of Vadamalapeta mandal in Chittoor district.
Special puja was performed to the materials at the forest office ahead of handing them over to the authorities.
