NE NEWS SERVICE
TIRUPATI, SEP 19
The nine-day ”Adhika Masam Brahmotsavam” held once in three years began at the shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, near here, on Saturday.
Today marks the beginning of the Tirumala Srivari Brahmotsavam festival at the famous #TirupatiBalaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh. During the festival, idols of the deity, Malayappa Swami & his consorts Sridevi & Bhudevi are taken out on a procession
Watch- https://t.co/CXKpflkqZQ pic.twitter.com/g7ikkO9XXt— PeepulTreeWorld (@PeepulTreeWorld) September 19, 2020
The ”brahmotsavam” began with the hoisting of the ”Garuda” flag atop the golden ”dwajathambham” (flag mast) by high priests amid chanting of Vedic hymn amid observing COVID-19 precautionary measures, a temple official said.
Later, the centuries-old processional idols of Lord Venkateswara and consorts Padmavathi and Lakshmi, adorned with diamond-set ornaments and mounted on Pedda Sesha Vahanam (carrier) would be taken out of the sanctum sanctorum to the Kalyanotsava Mandapam inside the shrine, the official said.
శ్రీవారి సాలకట్ల బ్రహ్మోత్సవాల్లో మొదటిరోజు శ్రీవారి ఆలయంలో పెద్దశేష వాహనంపై పరమపదనాథుని అలంకారంలో శ్రీ మలయప్పస్వామి. pic.twitter.com/9scfVLZLmt
— Y V Subba Reddy (@yvsubbareddymp) September 19, 2020
Special pujas were conducted for the celestial idols, he said. For the first time in the history of the ancient hill temple, the customary practice of taking out Lord Venkateswara in a grand procession on the ”vahanas” (celestial vehicles) around the temple was cancelled to avoid the huge congregation of devotees due to the coronavirus norms, the official said.
Because of ”Adhika Masam” (an extra month which makes it 13 months this year) in the traditional Hindu Lunar calendar, two ”Brahmotsavams” of nine days each are being conducted this year, he said. The regular ”Navaratri Brahmotsavam” would commence on October 16, the official said.
