Devotees Throng Siva Temples In Both Telugu States

On the occasion of the holy Maha Sivaratri festival on Friday, the Siva temples in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana reverberated with the chanting of "Om Namah Sivaya" in praise of the three-eyed Lord.

Devotees lined up in serpentine queues at Siva temples since the early morning for a darsan of the Lord, and performed abhisekhams and special pujas.

All temples of Lord Siva in both the states were tastefully decorated for the sacred occasion with colorful flowers and illumination.

The popular Siva temples at Tirupati, Srisailam, Draksharamam, Srikalahasti, Kotappakonda, Palakollu, Vemulawada, Keesara and Bheemavaram were thronged by thousands of devotees.

The Srisailam shrine, one of the dwadasa (12) Jyothirlingas, especially turned into a sea of devotees. After having a bath in the Pathalaganga, devotees waited in serpentine queues and had a darsan of Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy.

A large number of devotees also visited the popular Srikalahasti temple. Keeping in view the heavy rush on the occasion, the temple authorities allowed darsan of Lord Kalahasteeswara right from 2 am, and cancelled Arjitha sevas and introduced Laghu darshan. The devotees were given prasadam and milk packets in the queue lines.

The special feature of this year's Mahasivarathi at Srikalahasti was that the processional idols of the Lord and His Consort were decorated with gold ornaments after ten years.

The APSRTC plied special bus services to Srikalahasti from Tirupathi, Nellore and Chennai.

In Telangana State, devotees thronged the thousand-Pillar temple at Hanamkonda in Warangal district, the Sri Rajarajeswara Swamy temple in Vemulawada of Karimnagar district, the Sri Ramalingeswara Swamy temple at Keesara in Ranga Reddy district, the Sri Mallikharjuna Swamy at Komuravelli, the Sri Kethaki Sangameshwara Swamy at Jharasangham in Medak district and the Sri Jogulamba temple in Alampur in Mahbubnagar district.

Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy, accompanied by his family members, performed a special puja at the Rajarajeswara Swamy temple at Vemulawada. On behalf of the State government, local MLA Chennameneni Ramesh presented silk vastrams to the divine couple. The TSRTC plied special buses from all parts of the State.

A delegation of priests from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam also visited the Sri Rajarajeswara Swamy temple and presented "pattu vastrams" to Lord Siva on the occasion.

The Kanaka Durga Malleswara Swamy temple atop Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada also attracted a large number of devotees.