The Hindu : Fervour marks celestial wedding at Bhadrachalam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Fervour marks celestial wedding at Bhadrachalam

By Our Staff Reporter

BHADRACHALAM, MARCH 30. Gaiety and fervour marked the celestial wedding in Sri Sitaramachandraswamy Devasthanams here on Tuesday. The devotees had a hassle-free darshan in the temple.

The Kalyanamahotshavam was sans the VVIP rush. The Chief Minister also could not take part in the Kalyanamahotshavam because of the election code. The Commissioner for Endowments, K. V. Ramanachary, who represented the Government in place of the Chief Minister, presented `Pattu vastram' and Mutyala Talambralu, in keeping with the tradition.

Complete order was discernible all through the session barring a few occasions. The police had a tough time in screening the pilgrims seeking special entry to VIP enclosures and the Kalyanamantapam. The Vedapandits, who brought the Utshav idols in a procession to the venue after the ritual bath in the sacred water of the Godavari, had to undergo the screening process. A few women devotees who sought to gain entry along with procession were pushed away. The `talambralu' being carried by them spilled on the ground. A good number of devotees who stayed away from the enclosures complained that the entry passes were not reasonably priced. Many of them could gain free entry by the time the priests commenced the ritual of wedding. As Lord Rama and His consort Sita were joined in holy wedlock in the Abjit Lagnam, the crowd broke into devout cheer. The Mangala Sutra Dharana was the auspicious moment the devotees were waiting for. The engrossed themselves in Ramanama Smaranam. The Pachala pathkam, Chintakupathama and all other ornaments gifted by the saint poet, Bhakta Ramadasa, were taken around the Kalyanamantapam exhibiting them to the devotees before they were adorned to the deities.

The Khammam Collector, Arvind Kumar, and his wife, Sumitra Dhawra, Karimnagar Collector, and the Superintendent of Police, V. V. Srinivasa Rao, were among those who took part.

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Andhra Pradesh