Temple adds spiritual grandeur to port city

Visakhapatnam: Pontiff of Visakha Sri Sarada Peetham Swami Swaroopanandendra Saraswathi said the construction of Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple at Rushikonda will lead to all round development of Visakhapatnam. Participating in the 'Mahakumbabhishekam', consecration of Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple held in a ceremonial manner on Wednesday, the pontiff mentioned that the temple has been built as per 'Vaikhanasas Aghama' on the shores of the port city by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) under the chairmanship of YV Subba Reddy and direction of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, adhering to 'Agama' principles.

Speaking on the occasion, TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy said, "The temple added spiritual grandeur to Visakhapatnam. The temple was constructed at a cost of Rs 26 crore in two years. TTD is committed to strengthening 'Sanatana dharma' by building 'Srivari' temples from Kashmir to Kanyakumari." Odisha temple is getting ready for inauguration in two months.

Likewise, Amaravati Srivari temple will also be opened soon. In Kashmir, the temple is being constructed in an extent of 60 acres and will be completed in six months. In the next two years, 1,000 temples will be built in tribal, fishermen hamlets and locations inhabited by the backward classes to bring Lord Venkateswara close to them, the TTD Chairman said. Expressing delight over the Venkateswara temple coming all the way to Visakhapatnam to bless the devotees, Tourism Minister M Srinivasa Rao termed it as the 'Gold Letter Day' in the history of Visakhapatnam.

The pontiff expressed surprise over the presiding deity in the sanctum sanctorum that looked quite similar to the famous hill shrine of 'Malayappa Swamy' at Tirumala. The consecration ceremony started on March 18 with 'ankurarparnam' and continued for five days in accordance to Vedic scriptures. The darshan for devotees in the newly opened Sri Padmavathi Godadevi Sametha Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple will commence from Thursday.