Ankurarpanam performed with religious fervour in Tirumala temple

Tirupati: Ankurarpanam was performed with religious fervour in Tirumala temple on Sunday as per the tenets of Agama. Ankurarpanam or Beejavapanam is one of the most important rituals of the Vaikhanasa Agama.

Ankuararpanam means "sowing the seed". The essence of this ritual is to make a Sankalpa(Wish) to celebrate a utsavam (Festival) and get the grace of the Lord. Sastras prescribe doing Ankurarpana 9, 7, 5, 3 or atleast one day before the festival.

This ritual is performed in the evenings as the dictum has its basis in astrological principles. As Chandra - the Moon God is said to be the "Sasyakaraka" - the controller of plants, the seed sowing ceremony is performed in nights only before every festival.

Agamas also mention that the sprouts that emanate from the seeds imply the successful celebration of the fete. The signs about the sprouts have an astrological significance. These sprouts were sowed in mud vessels known as "palikas" for performing ankurarpanam.

The palikas were filled with mud while worshipping the Goddess Earth and with seeds and water while worshipping Moon.  Seeds were sowed amidst the accompaniment of Managala vadya and the palikas were decorated by wrapping a new cloth around them and Punyahavachanam performed.

Different deities inlcuding Brahma, Garuda, Sesha, Sudarsana, Vakratunda, Soma, Santa, Indra and others have been invited and worshipped through fire in Yagashala chanting the respective mantras.

Earlier, the commander-in-chief of Lord, Vishwaksena, was taken on a procession around four mada streets to the Vasa-ntha Mandapam and later brought to the temple.

TTD Chairman Dr Ch. Krishnamurthy, EO Dr D. Sambasiva Rao, JEO K.S. Sreenivasa Raju, CVSO G. Srinivas, Board Members A.V. Ramana, Bhanuprakash Reddy, Temple DyEO Rama Rao, Peishkar Selvam, temple staff and devotees took part.