Telangana Temples Overflow With Devotees on Vaikunta Ekadasi

Hyderabad:Temples witnessed a massive surge of devotees on Tuesday for Vaikunta Ekadasi for having Uttaradwara or Vaikuntadwara darshanam. Crowds gathered from the early hours at shrines

At Yadagirigutta Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Uttaradwaram darshan started at 5:30 AM. Huge crowds turned up for the grand events. Endowment minister Konda Surekha and officials joined special rituals. The temple authorities have confirmed that over one lakh devotees visited the temple.

Bhadrachalam's Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy Temple hosted vibrant festivities. Lord Ramachandra rode on Garuda Vahana, Sitadevi on Gajavahana, and Lakshmana Swami on Hanumath Vahana. Devotees thronged the northern gate.

Explaining the significance of the day, Vedic pundit Narasimha Murthy, who is also head priest at the age-old Sri Ramalayam at Chaitanyapuri, said that one crore celestial beings visited Vaikuntam on this same day to see Vishnu on Shesha Vahanam, and hence the day is also known as Vaikunta Ekadasi. Puranas say demons Madhu and Kaitabha gained liberation after having darshan of Vishnu through the northern gate, and hence devotees throng temples to have Vaikuntadwara darshan to attain moksha.

In Hyderabad, the 400-year-old Ranganathaswamy Temple at Jiyaguda, Sri Venkateswara temple at Chikkadpally, Kosagundla Laxmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Chaitanyapuri, and Birla Mandir witnessed long queues from dawn, some extending up to one kilometre. Devotees waited patiently for darshan of the reclining Lord.

Karimnagar's Illandakunta Sitaramachandra Temple and Jammikunta Venkateswara Temple opened northern gates before dawn. Nizamabad's Uttara Tirumala Temple, Jenda Balaji, Kodanda Ramalayam, and Narsingpalli Induru Tirumala brimmed with crowds. Jagitial's Dharmapuri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple held mahakshira abhishekam at 3 am.

Yadagirigutta began the six-day Adhyayana Utsavam from the evening of Vaikunta Ekadasi, and it will last till January 4. It features daily alankarams of avatars like Lakshmi Narasimha and Matsya. Arjita services, homams, and kalyanams are paused, said an endowment officer.

Temple authorities set up barricades and grills around major shrines. They decorated streets with fresh flowers. Police helped ensure smooth darshan for all. Some temples, including Yadagiri Gutta, will allow north gate entry on Wednesday too.

Ramakrishna Math in Hyderabad held sampoorna Bhagavad Gita Parayanam from 8 am in the Sri Ramakrishna Temple. Devotees, volunteers, and students joined the event.