Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam performed at Tirumala

TIRUPATI: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) performed Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam at the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara on Tuesday. This traditional cleansing is a prelude to Anivara Asthanam, which will be on July 17.

As part of Tirumanjanam, priests temporarily removed all Utsava idols from the sanctum sanctorum. They then covered Mulavirat (presiding deity) with waterproof material and carried out the cleansing rituals. Later, they applied an aromatic mixture to the walls and pillars inside the sanctum sanctorum.

Speaking on the occasion, TTD executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy said Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam is an ancient ritual, which is usually observed four times in a year – before Vaikunta Ekadasi, Brahmotsavam, Anivara Asthanam and Telugu Ugadi.

"As part of the tradition, the temple is disinfected thoroughly using ‘Parimalam’, an aromatic herbal mixture of refined camphor, sandalwood powder, vermilion, turmeric and other ingredients bequeathed by our sages,” Dharma Reddy explained.

The Anivara Asthanam, the annual festival of temple accounts, will be celebrated on July 17. This is the day TTD commences its new accounts. A unique feature of this festival is that the previous year’s accounts of the offices are presented before the deity by the principal officers. They are taken back to signify that Lord Venkateswara finds the officers fit enough to hold the office in their respective capacities.