Sea of Humanity Witnesses Ratha Saptami Festival in Tirumala

 Tirupati: A sea of humanity was present at the hill town of Tirumala to witness the procession of Lord Venkateswara Swamy on seven different vahanas, marking the Ratha Saptami festival on Friday.

As part of the festival celebrated on the occasion of Surya Jayanthi, the processional deity of Lord Malayappa Swamy appeared in different attires and took a celestial ride on seven vahanams from dawn to dusk, drawing cheers from the pilgrims.

The festival started with the auspicious procession of Surya Prabha Vahanam at 5.30am before the break of dawn. Devotees have congregated at the North-West corner of the hill temple since Friday night to witness the first rays of Sun’s fall on the feet of Lord Malayappa mounted on the Surya Prabha. The north-west corner was choc-a-bloc with the devotees occupying every inch of the available space.

The temple town was gripped by religious fervour and the devotees remained spellbound with the rhythmic chanting of sacred texts from Aditya Hridayam and Suryastakam by students of S.V. Balamandir.

Devotees, who waited patiently for hours, went into raptures as the sunrays touched the feet of the deity atop the vahanam.

The day was marked by the periodical processions of the Lord Malayappa Swamy on the Chinna Sesha vahanam, Garuda vahanam, Hanumantha vahanam, Kalpavriksha vahanam and Sarvabhoopala vahanam and finally the Chandra Prabha vahanam. Chakra Snanam was performed during the start of the second-half of the day.

The authorities had a tough time in ensuring uninterrupted supply of free food and water as tens of thousands of devotees remained seated in the galleries around the mada streets.

The temporary sheds set up along the four mada streets to protect the devotees from the afternoon sun and chill weather during the evening helped a lot and kept the devotees affixed to their seats.

Devotees heaped praise on TTD for the elaborate arrangements when TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy interacted with them.