Temples witness heavy turnout for Vaikunta Ekadasi

Nellore: Vaikunta Ekadasi festival celebrated by people in SPSR Nellore and Prakasam districts on Friday. Thousands of devotees thronged the temples of Lord Vishnu and the turnout was very heavy at the ancient Sri Talpagiri Ranganadha Swamy temple at Nellore. Braving prevailing cold wave, large number of devotees waited in the serpentine queue lines since Thursday night for the Dwara Darshanam at 4.30 am at Sri Talpagiri Ranganadha Swamy temple.

Temple committee, police and endowment officials faced a piquant situation when thousands of devotees, who purchased '116 special darshan ticket, turned up between 8.30 am and 9.30 am instead of timing allotted to them in the ticket. Police failed to check the timings and allowed all those holding the ticket and it took nearly two hours for the return of normalcy. Temple committee members arranged distributed water packets with the help of scouts in the queue lines.

MLC Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and Kovur legislator Polamreddy Srinivasulu Reddy have offered prayers at the temple apart from some judicial officers. Nellore mayor SK Abdul Aziz expressed dissatisfaction over the queue lines and parking facility outside the temple.

Mukkoti Ekadasi observed with fervour in Kurnool district:

Vaikunta Ekadasi was celebrated across the district on Friday with religious fervour. The occasion is considered to be more auspicious by Vaishnavites than the Ekadasi day which falls every month. On Mukkoti Vaikunta Ekadasi people observe fast. In Ahobilam, devotees thronged the Sri Narasimha Swamy temple in the early hours to catch a glimpse of the deity. Chants of ‘Govinda Govinda’ reverberated and throughout the day, serpentine queues were witnessed in temples. Endowment officer, mutt administrative officer made all arrangements to ensure hassle-free darshan for the devotees.

The auspicious day was observed at various temples in the district including the Sri Venkateswara Swami temple in Kurnool, Laxminarsimha temple in Veldurthi and Chennakesava Perumal temples in Koilakuntla and Banaganapalle. In Srisailam, thousands of devotees queued up at the Sri Brahmari Mallikarjuna Swami temple. The temple executive officer N. Barat Gupta made special arrangements to ensure trouble-free darshan for pilgrims.