Devotees throng Yadadri on weekend

Yadagirigutta: The Yadadri Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy Temple, which is being rebuilt on the lines of famous Tirumala shrine of Lord Venkateswara, witnessed huge crowd of devotees on Sunday on account of the last week of Karthika Masam.

The temple officials made special arrangements for the benefit of teeming devotees and to make sure hassle-free darshan. The day also coincided with the Lord‘s ‘Janma Nakshatram’ of Swati. The police did not allow vehicles atop the hill in view of the weekend rush.

People had to wait in long queues for hours to secure tickets for ‘darshan’ and for performing other rituals.The temple and its surroundings were packed with devotees, who had to wait for hours, four for ordinary darshan and two hours for special darshan.

As the queue lines were full, several devotees had to stand outside the queue complex for a long time. Crowds also waited at the ‘Vrata’ and ‘Kalyana Mandaps’ and the ‘Pushkarni’ areas.

Devotees performed Satyanarayana Vratams as the Karthika Masam is coming to an end. As a result, the mandaps where the vratam is performed were crowded during the entire day. This forced people to wait outside for their turn to perform the vratam.

People also made a beeline to the Ramalingeswara Swamy temple atop the hill to light ‘Karthika’ lamps while fulfilling their vows.Nallandigal, chief archaka of the Yadadri temple, told The Hans India that there was crowd from various parts of the State in the temple as the devotees were keen to perform special poojas to mark the Swathi Nakshtram, which is believed to be the zodiac sign of the Lord.