Tirupati: Devotees throng Siva temples on Karthika Pournami day

Tirupati: Lord Siva temples across the district drew huge crowds on the second Monday of auspicious 'Karthika Masam'. As it coincides with Karthika Pournami, another major event for the devotees to worship the Lord and lit the lamps in temples, they have thronged the temples in large numbers from early hours in the morning.

The famous Srikalahasti Devasthanam witnessed heavy crowds all through the day and by evening almost 30,000 devotees have visited the temple to offer prayers. The temple and the surrounding areas reverberated with the chantings of 'Om Namah Sivaya' and thousands of women devotees have lit the lamps in the earthen diyas with 365 wicks as per the tradition. The temple premises were surrounded by the women and the lamps.

Temple authorities have made elaborate arrangements to provide hassle-free darshan for the devotees. Around 2,000 devotees have worshipped the Lord by purchasing Rs 200 darshan tickets while another 3,000 devotees have bought Rs 50 darshan tickets. During the day, 4,087 Rahu Ketu puja tickets were sold out of which 2,534 bought Rs 500 tickets followed by 1,010 tickets of Rs 750 each, 300 tickets of Rs 1,500 each, 199 tickets of Rs 2,500 each and 44 tickets of Rs 5,000 each.

According to the statistics given by the temple authorities, through the Rahu Ketu puja tickets alone they earned Rs 27.87 lakhs during the day. The temple management was also busy in making foolproof arrangements for Lunar eclipse day which falls on Tuesday keeping in view the severe criticism in this regard during the recent Solar eclipse day.

Meanwhile, the Kapileswara Swamy temple in Tirupati also drew a huge influx of devotees. The devotee took holy baths at the waterfalls in the temple and offered prayers to the presiding deity. After darshan, they lit the lamps following the customs. The other famous temples like Sri Mogileswara Swamy temple at Mogili, Sri Parasurameswara temple in Gudimallam, Siddeswara Swamy temple in Talakona, Kailasanatha Kona, Pallikondeswara Swamy temple in Surutupalli among various others were thronged by the devotees.

BJP cultural wing district convenor Gundala Gopinath Reddy

and others offered special

prayers, Abhishekam at Omkara Jyothirlingeswara Swamy temple in Vedallacheruvu village of Renigunta mandal. They lit the 'Akasa Deepam' in the evening. Temple trustees Krishnaiah Swamy, S Raghurami Reddy and others participated.