Devotion in air on Vaikunta Ekadashi

Long queues were seen near Venkateshwara temples across the City as devotees, unmindful of the early morning downpour, gathered in large numbers to get a glimpse of the Lord on Vaikunta Ekadashi on Friday.

City witnessed early morning showers on the first day of the New Year. However, nothing deterred devotees who wanted to get a glimpse of lord Venkateshwara.
Vaikunta Ekadashi is believed to be the most auspicious of all the 24 Ekadashis that come in a year. Devotional songs and bhajans in praise of the Lord played on the loudspeakers created a festive atmosphere.

Around 70,000 people had gathered at Iskcon Temple in Rajajinagar on Thursday, according to the temple authorities. Same was the case even with the Tirupati Tirumala Temple at Vyalikaval in Malleswaram where the footfall was as high as 50,000 by afternoon.

At Iskcon temple, offerings and rituals began as early as 3 am. Lord Venkateshwara was adorned with a new crown and silver armour.

At the temple in Mahalakshmi Puram, devotees were seen standing in the queue as early as 1 am to get an early darshan. In the presence of Pejawar Mutt seer Vishveshvarateertha Swami, rituals were carried out.

Special arrangements were in place at the TTD temple in Vyalikaval to ensure that there was no chaos. According to the temple authorities, women visiting the temple outnumbered men.

As many as 80,000 laddus, brought from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, were distributed to the devotees. In addition to the celebration, a free health camp was also organised by the temple on Thursday.

The City Police had a tough time managing the crowd and also traffic near City Market area with devotees flocking the Kote Venkataramana temple in large numbers. By evening, a long queue starting from Kannada Sahitya Parishat in Chamarajpet to the temple was seen with hundreds of devotees waiting to get a glimpse of the Lord.
The deity was adorned with a variety of flowers.

A fast is usually observed by devotees on the Vaikunta Ekadashi day.  Temple authorities in RPC Layout and Vijayanagar made a quick buck by charging Rs 50 or more in the name of special darshan.