Tirupati temple to conduct Dhanvantari mahayaganam to drive away COVID-19

The Tirupati temple authorities are now seeking the divine intervention “to safeguard humanity from the dreadful virus.”

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is conducting a three-day Sri Srinivasa Shantyotsava Sahita Dhanvantari Maha Yagam from March 19 to 21.

The ritual would be conducted under the guidance of the Mantralaya Raghavendra Mutt Seer Sri Subudendratheertha Swamy and the pontiffs of the Visakha Sarada Peetham at the Paruveta Mandapam in Tirumala.

No queues, no waiting in Vaikuntam complex

The TTD which has been taking several precautions to avoid the COVID-19 spread on the Tirumala hill has informed that from March 17 onwards, pilgrims need not wait in the Vaikuntam Queue Complex compartments as they would be allowed for darshan through time slot tokens.

“The measure is to avoid person to person contact. In their given time slots, pilgrims will be allowed for darshan in limited numbers. They should bring Aadhaar, voter, driving license etc. identification proofs along with them to get the tokens. Devotees would be disallowed if they fail to come on time for darshan", TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal said on Saturday.

Certain Arjitha Sevas including Visesha Puja, Sahasra Kalasabhishekam and Vasanthotsavam will also remain cancelled to avoid congregation of pilgrims for a long duration. Devotees cancelling these arjitha seva tickets will be allotted VIP break darshan upon request.

“All these measures are needed as Tirumala happens to be the pilgrim centre with the highest congregation of devotees,” the top TTD executive said.

Vontimitta Lord Rama wedding low-key affair this time

Meanwhile, the celestial weddings of the deities are also getting cancelled due to Covid-19 fears.

TTD has announced the elaborate wedding ceremony of Vontimitta Sri Sita Rama as part of the annual brahmotsavams of the famous Sri Kodanda Ramaswamy temple in Kadapa district as cancelled this year.

“As nearly one lakhs devotees converge at Vontimitta for the celestial event on April 7 sitting for nearly 6-7 hours, TTD has decided to cancel the mass fete keeping in view the health-safety of devotees. The Kalyanam, however, will be conducted in a low key manner this time the same day," one TTD official told DH.

The architecturally marvellous 16th century Vijayanagara era temple has gained prominence for the Sri Ramanavami wedding after Bhadrachalam went to Telangana. The wedding ceremony and related events take place under the aegis of the Tirupati-Tirumala temple.

The Bhoomi Pooja for the construction of Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple at Mumbai, scheduled for April 5, is also postponed following Covid-19 threat, TTD said in a statement.