Telangana: Devotees throng Vemulawada temple on Monday

According to the temple authorities, about 70,000 to 80,000 devotees visited the shrine on Monday alone and it took five hours to have the darshan of the presiding deity

Rajanna-Sircilla: A huge number of devotees thronged Sri Rajarajeshwara Swamy temple in Vemulawada on Monday. Though the rush at the shrine has been high during the last few weeks, it doubled on Monday. According to the temple authorities, about 70,000 to 80,000 devotees visited the shrine on Monday alone and it took five hours to have the darshan of the presiding deity. Devotees, who started reaching the temple early in the morning were seen standing in serpentine queue lines.

Besides Monday, the biennial tribal fare Sammakka-Sarakka jatara is the main reason for the devotees to have visited the shrine in a big way. Compared to normal days, temple experiences hug pilgrims on every Monday since Monday is an auspicious day for the lord Shiva. So, a huge number of pilgrims thronged the shrine. In north Telangana, there is a tradition to have darshan of lord Shiva in Vemulawada before visiting the Sammakka-Sarakka jatara scheduled to be held from February 21 to 24.

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So, devotees from different parts of the state as well as adjacent Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and others are visiting the shrine during the last few weeks. In the wake of increasing rush at the shrine, temple authorities have cancelled all Arjita Sevas being done by devotees in the sanctum. On the other hand, rush at the temple has swelled considerably after the launch of a free traveling facility for women in RTC buses. Women, who have been postponing their trip to Vemulawada for a long time, have started visiting the shrine.

On the other hand, temple authorities have also started preparations for a three-day Maha Shiva ratri jatara scheduled to be held from March 8.