Religious ecstasy marked the ‘Kumaradhara theertha’ mukkoti festival on Monday at the sacred town of Lord Venkateswara.
Thousands of devotees, particularly from various districts and the neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu, enthusiastically trekked the arduous hilly terrains and reached the theertham (water falls) situated amid thick Tirumala forest, about nine kilometres from the town.
Immense importance is attached to the annual fete which according to the Hindu almanac coincides with the ‘Maagha’ pournami the mentioning of which is also found in Vamana and Varaha puranas. Innumerable water bodies that exist along the Seshachalam ranges are broadly divided into four categories – Dharma, Gnana, Bhaktivairagya and Muktiprada theerthams. Of this, Kumaradhara is rated as the foremost among Muktiprada theerthams.
The TTD’s engineering personnel, who cleared the entire stretch of forest route leading to the theertham, also had set up a huge wooden staircase at the location. The administration also had ensured uninterrupted supply of free food, drinking water and buttermilk sachets to the devotees.
