The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Thousands take holy dip

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Monday, Sep 24, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Thousands take holy dip

Special Correspondent

‘Chakra Snanam’ signals end of Bramhotsavams; temple nets Rs. 7.75 crore

Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

Grand spectacle: A sea of devotees waiting to take a dip at the temple tank during ‘Chakra Snanam’ in Tirumala on Sunday. –

TIRUMALA: It was a grand finale for the nine-day annual Brahmotsavams at Tirumala on Sunday.

At the crack of dawn, the deities of Lord Venkateswara along with His two Consorts were taken to the holy Pushkarani where the priests performed an elaborate ‘Snapana Thirumanjanam’ along with ‘Sudarsana Chakra’ as a prelude to the holy ‘Chakra Snanam’.

After the celestial bath, priests took the Sudarsana Chakra (Chakraththalwar) down the steps into the holy tank amid chanting of Vedic hymns and immersed it inside signalling the conclusion of the nine-day festivities. Thousands of devotees who were waiting on the banks of the temple tank also simultaneously took a dip chanting ‘Govinda..Govinda’.

In the evening, the priests performed ‘Dhwaja Avarohanam’, i.e. lowering the ‘Dhwaja Patham’ (flag) from atop the Dhwaja Sthambham to mark the conclusion of the annual Brahmotsavams.

Meanwhile, TTD Board Chairman B. Karunakara Reddy and Executive Officer K.V. Ramanachary speaking to the media said that the temple netted an income of Rs. 7.75 crore during the current festival against Rs. 7.85 crore last time.

Significantly both the revenue collection and the pilgrim turnout this year was low compared to last year. This was, however, attributed to the fact that there was another Brahmothsavams round the corner -- October 12.

Laddu sale

The sale of ‘laddus’ fetched Rs. 81 lakh which was Rs. 47 lakh lesser than last year. The steep fall in laddu sales was believed to be because of its ‘exorbitant’ price of Rs. 25.

The sale of darshan tickets fetched Rs.1.2 crore against last’s year’s Rs. 1.36 crore. Similarly the number of pilgrims was 4.78 lakhs against last year’s 5.7 lakhs.

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