Vaikuntha Ekadasi Draws Thousands to Temples in Nellore, Prakasam

Nellore: Gaiety and deep devotional fervour marked the Vaikuntha Ekadasi celebrations across SPSR Nellore and Prakasam districts on Tuesday, with thousands of devotees thronging temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu from the early hours.

The turnout was particularly heavy at the ancient Sri Talpagiri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Nellore, popularly known as Uttara Srirangam (Srirangam of the North). Braving the prevailing cold wave, devotees began lining up in serpentine queues from late Monday night to witness the sacred Uttara Dwara Darshanam, which commenced at 4.30 am.

On the auspicious occasion of Mukkoti Ekadasi, devotees considered the darshan of Lord Ranganatha through the Vaikuntha Dwara as highly meritorious and expressed spiritual fulfilment after the holy sight. The temple premises were tastefully decorated with flowers, adding to the grandeur of the celebrations.

Shubhakara Reddy, son of Endowments minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, presented the first Ubhayam to the presiding deity, marking the ceremonial beginning of the festivities.

Temple committee members, police and endowments department officials faced a challenging task as the massive rush continued throughout the day. During peak hours, devotees had to wait for nearly two hours for darshan. The arrangements were closely monitored by the temple administration under the leadership of Executive Officer Srinivasulu Reddy. To ease pilgrims’ hardship, drinking water packets were distributed along the queue lines with the assistance of scouts.

Similar scenes of devotion were witnessed at several Vishnu temples across Prakasam district, where special prayers and rituals were performed to mark Vaikuntha Ekadasi.