Thousands throng temples on Vaikunta Ekadasi

Hyderabad: Devotees in large numbers thronged temples in the city to pray on the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadasi on Friday.

Temples, mainly the Vaishnava temples, organised special prayers, discourses and religious rituals on the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadasi. Devotees observed fasts and headed to the nearest temple to pray and seek blessings.

The TTD Sri Venkateswara Temples in Himayathnagar and Jubilee Hills, ISKCON temples in Secunderabad, Abids, Hare Krishna Golden Temple in Banjara Hills, Birla Mandir, Chilkur Balaji temple and also Venkateswara Swamy temples in Jiyaguda, Namalagundu and Kushaiguda have witnessed huge crowds standing in queue lines waiting for their turn to take part in the devotional programmes, rituals and cultural events throughout the day.

Temple managements also roped-in religious speakers to deliver spiritual discourses and talk about the significance of Vaikunta Ekadasi. On this day, according to Hindu mythology, the gates of Vaikunta, the heavenly abode of Lord Vishnu, were opened.

Grand celebrations were organised at Hare Krishna Golden Temple, beginning from 5:15 am itself, with the ‘Vaikunta Dwara Pratista’, wherein devotees were blessed with darshan through the ‘Uttara Dwara’ (North door) of the temple. The ‘Pradhama Darshana’ was offered to Acharya Srila Prabhupada, followed by the divine darshan of Swayambhu Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy and Radha Govinda in a special Lakshmi Narayana ‘alankara’.

Satya Gaura Chandra Dasa Prabhuji, president of the Hare Krishna Movement, Hyderabad, emphasised the significance of Vaikunta Ekadashi: “This festival is a celebration of the Lord’s love for His devotees. When one of His most revered devotees completed his earthly pastimes and returned to Vaikunta, the Lord personally went to the Vaikunta Dwara to receive him. By passing through the Vaikunta Dwara, devotees seek the Lord’s grace, and all their desires are fulfilled and they become eligible to enter Vaikunta themselves”.