Visakhapatnam: Thousands throng Simhachalam temple for Chandana Yatra

Visakhapatnam: Thousands of devotees from north Andhra and the neighbouring Odisha state thronged the Simhachalam temple for a glimpse of the `Nijaroopa Darshan’ of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, an annual feature held on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, on Tuesday. Elaborate arrangements were made for the convenience of devotees who queued up from […]

Visakhapatnam: Thousands of devotees from north Andhra and the neighbouring Odisha state thronged the Simhachalam temple for a glimpse of the `Nijaroopa Darshan’ of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, an annual feature held on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, on Tuesday.

Elaborate arrangements were made for the convenience of devotees who queued up from the wee hours of the day, unmindful of the rain which lashed the city for nearly half-an-hour well before dawn.

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Hereditary trustee of the temple and former union Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju was the first to make offering of sandalwood paste to the deity, in accordance with the tradition.

Prominent among those who had darshan of the actual form of the idol, available only once in a year from 2 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. on the day–the idol is covered with thick sandal paste throughout the year– were Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarrajan, Peethadhipati of Sarada Peetham in Chinamushidiwada Sri Swaroopanandendra Saraswati, AP Assembly Speaker Tammineni Seetharam, ministers Kottu Satyanarayana and Gudivada Amarnath, and former ministers Vellampalli Srinivas and Avanti Srinivasa Rao.

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