The temple town of Tirumala reverberated with spiritual vivacity on October 4 (Friday) as the annual Navaratri Brahmotsavams at the temple of Lord Venkateswara took off to a religious start with the ceremonial ‘Dwajarohanam’.
The sacred yellow cloth bearing the imprint of Lord Garuda was ceremoniously hoisted atop the ‘Dwajasthambham’ (flag post) inside the temple during the auspicious time between 5:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. in ‘Meena Lagnam’, amid the chanting of the sacred verses by a huge contingent of Sri Vaishnavite scholars to the traditional best of the temple drums, signalling the commencement of the nine-day festival.
The event was immediately followed by ‘Asthanam’ (court) at the Tirumala Raya Mandapam inside the temple.
Earlier, the processional deity of Lord Malayappa, along with His two consorts and ‘parivara devathas’ such as Anantha, Garuda, Chakra and Vishwaksena, were taken out in a grand procession around the ‘mada streets’ of the shrine with the ‘Dwaja patam’ preceding the cavalcade.
As per mythology, Lord Garuda, the carrier of Lord Maha Vishnu, goes around the temple complex, extending invitation to all the celestial forms to grace the occasion. The procession is considered a call to the Yakshas, Gandharvas, Rishis, Kinneras and Kimpurushas, and other celestial entities to attend the nine-day festival.
Later in the evening, the procession of ‘Pedda Sesha’ vahanam was taken out, marking the commencement of the vahana sevas.
The deity, in his resplendent divine attires, was taken out around the ‘mada streets’ on the ‘Pedda Sesha’ (seven-hooded golden serpent) vahanam.
Rare adornments
The presiding deity inside the sanctum sanctorum was adorned with rare and precious jewels such as the diamond-studded golden crown, diamond ‘kati’, ‘varada hastams’, ‘karna patrams’, ‘nagabharanams’, ‘pattu peethambaram’ (golden saree) soon after ‘abhishekam’ (a ritual performed only once in a week on Friday) befitting the grand occasion.
Published – October 04, 2024 07:48 pm IST
