Annual Teppotsavam of Lord Venkateswara Concludes at Tirumala

Tirupati: The five-day annual Teppotsavam (float festival) of Lord Venkateswara concluded on a religious note at Tirumala on Monday evening, with thousands of devotees gathering at the Srivari Pushkarini to witness the final-day rituals. The temple tank was filled to capacity, with pilgrims occupying the steps and surrounding areas to have a glimpse of the celestial float festival.

On the concluding day, the processional deities of Lord Malayappa Swamy, along with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi, were taken in a ceremonial procession to the Srivari Pushkarini amid traditional music and chanting of Vedic hymns by priests and Veda scholars. The deities were seated on a decorated float and taken around the temple tank seven times, as devotees watched the proceedings with devotion.

The Teppotsavam began last week with different alankarams of Lord Malayappa. On the first day, the deity appeared in the form of Lord Sri Rama accompanied by Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. On the second day, the Lord appeared as Sri Krishna with Rukmini. During the remaining three days, Lord Malayappa with Sridevi and Bhudevi was taken on the float around the Pushkarini.

Thousands of pilgrims from different parts of the country had reached Tirumala to witness the annual float festival. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), in coordination with the Tirumala police and other departments, made elaborate arrangements for crowd management, security, lighting and sanitation around the temple tank and surrounding mada streets. The festival concluded peacefully without any untoward incidents, TTD officials said.