All in Place for Anivara Asthanam at Tirumala
The cleaning extended from the Anandanilayam to the Bangaru Vakili, covering sub-shrines, walls, ceilings and other surfaces: Report
TIRUPATI: At Tirumala Temple, as per the custom, Tirumanjanam or the sacred cleansing ritual is carried out four times a year, prior to Ugadi, Anivara Asthanam, Brahmotsavam and Vaikunta Ekadasi. With Anivara Asthanam scheduled on Wednesday, authorities suspended darshan for a few hours in the temple on Tuesday morning to thoroughly cleanse the inner sanctum and the surrounding temple premises using a mixture of scented herbal water.
The cleaning extended from the Anandanilayam to the Bangaru Vakili, covering sub-shrines, walls, ceilings and other surfaces.
During the Tirumanjanam, the main deity – Moolavirat – is completely covered with a cloth before the temple sanctification starts. Following the cleaning, a mixture of traditional perfumed substances including turmeric, sandalwood powder, camphor and kumkum was sprinkled throughout the temple. Later, the cloth covering the Moolavirat is removed. Thereafter, special pujas and offerings are performed in accordance with the Agama traditions.
Those present on the occasion included TTD chairman B.R. Naidu, temple executive officer (EO) J. Syamala Rao and additional EO Ch. Venkaiah Chowdary. Addressing the media later, Syamala Rao underlined that the ritual is significant for preserving the sanctity of the temple, ahead of preparing it for major annual festivals.
As the heavily busy Lord Venkateswara Temple remained closed for the Tirumanjanam, a huge rush of pilgrims built up. Devotees without pre-booked darshan tokens faced waiting times of nearly 24 hours. Queue lines stretched across several kilometres, extending beyond the Vaikuntam queue complex to the Narayanagiri Gardens, Outer Ring Road and even reaching Silathoranam point.
TTD officials said while 92,221 pilgrims had darshan on Saturday, 80,193 did so on Sunday and 74,149 on Monday. By 6 p.m. on Tuesday, over 50,000 had completed darshan, while thousands remained in line.
With the crowd building up, TTD officials scaled up facilities like Annaprasadam, drinking water and security. Elderly pilgrims and families with children face hardship due to the prolonged waiting period.
TTD has appealed to devotees, especially those planning token-less visits, to be prepared for delays and cooperate with the temple authorities in dealing with the rush.