Rain Fails To Dampen Pilgrims’ Fervour During Garuda Seva At Tirumala

Continuous rain in Tirumala on Friday failed to keep devotees away from the Garuda Vahana Seva of Lord Malayappa Swamy. Thousands of pilgrims remained along the mada streets braving the rain to witness the holy procession during the Navaratri Brahmotsavams.

The hill town had woken up to a sunny morning. Before the day's first event – Mohini Avataram – could start as scheduled, rain clouds had gathered. Rain started and continued while Lord Malayappa Swamy had been taken around the temple on an ivory palanquin in a procession.

Devotees, who had arrived early, remained in the galleries despite the rain and had Srivari’s darshan. The rain continued from the morning till night.

At 6.30 p.m., Lord Malayappa Swamy, adorned with precious ornaments and seated on the Garuda Vahanam, stated towards the Vahana Mandapam. As the procession moved along the mada streets, devotees raised chants of “Govinda” and had the darshan of the deity. Many devotees continued to occupy their places despite the rain.

Garuda Vahana Seva is considered particularly significant as the processional deity is adorned with rare ornaments normally worn by the presiding deity inside the Srivari temple. The Makarakanti, Lakshmi Kasula Haram, and Venkateswara Sahasranama Mala had been brought out of the sanctum sanctorum and decorated on the processional deity for the occasion.

Despite the rain, the galleries along the four mada streets, which can accommodate nearly 1.8 lakh devotees, remain packed from the morning. More than one lakh pilgrims waiting outside the galleries watched the procession on giant screens arranged by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

TTD provided food, drinking water, and beverages to devotees. Presence of TTD Vigilance and security staff, apart from police, ensured that the event passed off without any untoward incident.

Entry restrictions around the temple resulted in the closure of most entry points, causing inconvenience to pilgrims and locals.

On the day, many devotees trekked up the hills despite the adverse weather. Heavy traffic had been reported on the twin ghat roads of Tirumala.

Those present during the vahana sevas included Tirumala Pedda Jeeyar Swamy and Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, TTD chairman B. Rajagopal Naidu, executive officer Muddada Ravichandra, additional EO Ch. Venkaiah Chowdary, CV&SO K.V. Muralikrishna, SP L. Subba Rayudu, and other officials.