Gaiety, religious fervour mark Vaikunta Ekadasi at Tirumala

Tirumala: Gaiety and religious forever marked Vaikunta Ekadasi, the most auspicious day for Hindus in Tirumala on Friday. The temple was thrown open for darshan after special pujas. The Dwara Darshan begin at early hours of the day after Abhishekam. The officials commenced the Darshan for devotees half-an-hour earlier much to their satisfaction.

VIPs, including Supreme Court judge justice JK Maheshwari, AP High Court judges and Telangana High Court judges, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, AP Assembly Speakers Ch Ayyanna Patrudu, Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Shiva Prasad, AP Assembly Deputy Speaker K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, AP and Telangana ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, senior officials, celebrities, film actors, Ramdev Baba had darshan after which the common pilgrims were allowed early in the morning.

As per the instructions of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the TTD authorities made special darshan arrangements to those injured in stampeded in Tirupati, on Friday. The devotees after Vaikunta Dwara Darshan expressed immense happiness and thanked the C M, TTD chairman and authorities for providing them with the most sought-after Mukkoti Darshanam.

The special floral and electrical decorations made by TTD this year for the auspicious Vaikunta Dwara Vaikunta Ekadasi immersed the devotees in devotional vibes.

The Ranganatha Swamy decoration erected in front of Tirumala temple by the garden department of TTD cast its magic on the devotees. Hundreds of devotees visited this colourful and captivating decoration and captured the beauty of the deities made out of tonnes of flowers and fruits.

TTD made elaborate arrangements which saw the Vaikunta Ekadasi Dwara darshan went off smoothly without any incidents. TTD senior officials were present overseeing crowd movement, the temple and Tirumala were specially decorated for the occasion,m giving the festive look to the temple town.