The nine-day Dasara festivities at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam in Vijayawada began on Sunday. The first day of the festivities saw the presiding deity being adorned as Sri Bala Tripura Sundari Devi.
The festival started with traditional rituals performed by the temple priests, including Suprabhata Seva, Snapanabhishekam, Balabhoga nivedana, and Nitya archana. Devotees from different parts of the State arrived at the temple premises and were allowed to have darshan of the Goddess from 9 am.
Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazir, along with his family members, visited the temple and offered silk robes to the Goddess. Vijayawada West MLA Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao and the temple priests welcomed them and accompanied them during the darshan.
Tourism Minister RK Roja also offered special prayers at the temple. She requested the police personnel and volunteers to ensure a hassle-free darshan for elderly and female devotees who came to the temple with their children.
TDP leader and former minister Devineni Umamahesewara Rao trekked the hilltop from the queue starting at Lord Vinayaka Temple on the canal road. Before that, he offered special prayers at Vinayaka Temple for the well-being of TDP president Chandrababu Naidu.
The NTR District Collector, S Dilli Rao, mentioned that elaborate arrangements were made for the smooth conduct of the nine-day Dasara festivities. Volunteers were assigned to provide drinking water and butter milk to devotees. Expert swimmers were also deployed near the bathing gates for devotees to take a holy dip in the River Krishna.
Anticipating a rush of devotees, the anthralaya darshan for devotees was canceled. The Collector stated that they are expecting over 3 lakh devotees to have darshan of the Goddess on ‘Moola Nakshatra’ tithi and their priority is to provide darshan for common devotees rather than VIPs. Pilgrims can either book tickets in advance through the website or purchase tickets at three different locations.
