Bhavani Deeksha Viramana begins on grand note

Vijayawada(NTR District): The five-day relinquishment of Bhavani Deeksha began on grand note at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Devasthanam here on Thursday. Temple EO D Bramaramba and chief priest Vishnubatla Siva Prasad Sharma formally inaugurated the relinquishment by performing Agni prathistapana and lit the homa gundams at 6.30 am. Later, devotees were allowed to have Goddess darshan.

Thousands of devotees across the Telugu States are reaching Vijayawada to relinquish their sacred deekha in the presence of Goddess Kanaka Durga. With this, Indrakeeladri and its premises turned a sea of red with devotees.

After taking a holy bath in River Krishna, the devotees performed Giri pradakshina by wearing red robes around Indrakeeladri, which is about 14 km and later had Goddess darshan.

The temple authorities have made foolproof arrangements for Bhavani Deeksha Viramana. But many pilgrims faced problems as there is no free meals programme and no water. Some devotees criticised that the temple authorities arranged only two queue lines for free darshan and there were Rs 100, Rs 300 and Rs 500 tickets. They lamented that they had to wait around 3 to 4 hours to have the Goddess darshan.

Meanwhile, Temple EO D Bramarabha said that they made elaborate arrangements for Bhavani Deeksha Viramana event. She made it clear that Laddu prasadams, bathing, tonsuring and other needful arrangements were done to make the event successful. She said that devotees can have darshan from 3 am to 11 pm.