More than 100 quintals of Kalyana Talambralu left unsold since the last Sita Rama Kalyanam held in a low-key manner at Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam owing to the coronavirus pandemic on April 2 last year, were buried in a trench on the temple lands in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh’s Purushothapatnam on Friday.
The move was necessitated as a huge quantity of Kalyana Talambralu (rice mixed with vermilion, turmeric, saffron, gulal and other scented ingredients) prepared for the last year’s celestial wedding remained unsold in the temple’s storeroom due to the pandemic-related factors, temple sources said.
Last year’s celestial wedding was performed by temple priests inside the temple complex in the presence of essential staff, devoid of devotees.
The plans of the temple authorities to sell the Kalyana Talambralu through sale counters on the occasion of Sri Rama Navami went haywire due to the pandemic-related restrictions last year.
The low water level in the Godavari at the temple town prompted the authorities to bury the unsold Kalyana Talambralu at the temple lands in Purushothapatnam.
The leftover Kalyana Talambralu were buried in a 10-foot trench dug up at the temple lands in Purushothapatnam after consulting the Vedic pandits, said an official of the temple.
