Ashada Sari Devotees Flood Vijayawada Kanaka Durga Temple on Opening Day

VIJAYAWADA: Thousands of women devotees from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana thronged the famous Sri Kanaka Durga Temple atop Indrakeeladri on Wednesday, the first day of the annual Ashada Sari festival.

The unprecedented rush prompted temple authorities to make special arrangements to manage the crowds.

For the inaugural ceremony, as many as 23 Sari groups comprising 9,623 devotees arrived, offering traditional sari gifts to Goddess Kanaka Durga. The ritual, in which women offer saris, turmeric, kumkum, bangles, and other auspicious items to the presiding deity, has grown into a major annual religious event over the years.

Priests ceremoniously brought the temple's processional deity from the main sanctum to the sixth floor of the Maha Mandapam amid Vedic chanting and traditional musical ensembles. Pujaris performed special rituals before installing the idol on the stage for the nearly month-long festival that will conclude on August 12.

Temple executive officer (EO) V.K. Seena Naik announced that devotees offering saris to the deity can join the Bhavani Anugraha Darshan queue, normally meant for the ₹100 special darshan, free of cost throughout the Ashada festival period.

Endowments officials recall that the Ashada Sari tradition had been introduced in 2017 during the tenure of then executive officer A. Suryakumari. Since then, offerings of saris during the Ashada month have steadily increased every year. Now, it is attracting crowds comparable to the famous Bhavani Deeksha season.

Devotees regard Goddess Kanaka Durga as a daughter of their household and arrive with traditional offerings, including the sari, as a mark of devotion.

Authorities are expecting that the number of pilgrims from Telangana will rise as the Bonalu festival is being celebrated in that state.

Extensive arrangements have been made for devotees, including drinking water, sanitation facilities, and additional bus services. In view of the scorching weather, EO has directed distribution of buttermilk to pilgrims waiting in the queues.

Temple staff are monitoring crowd movement through CCTV cameras. They are issuing real-time instructions via wireless communication to regulate queues efficiently.

Free prasadam and Annaprasadam are to be served continuously throughout the day during the Ashada month.

For the first time, the temple administration has introduced registration for sari groups. A dedicated queue has been arranged for these groups from Sri Kanaka Durga Nagar to the hilltop.

Mobile phones are prohibited inside the temple. Devices brought in violation of the rules are being confiscated.

EO Seena Naik has appealed to pilgrims not to carry mobile phones, as they disturb the spiritual atmosphere and concentration of fellow devotees.