All set for 10-day Dasara festivities at Durga temple
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2024-10-02 23:50 GMT
Vijayawada: All preparations are complete for the 10-day Dasara festivities at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) temple atop Indrakeeladri, set to commence on Thursday. On the first day of the festival, the presiding deity, Goddess Kanaka Durga, will be adorned as Bala Tripura Sundari Devi to bless devotees.
Briefing the media on Wednesday, Durga temple Executive Officer (EO) KS Rama Rao shared that the Dasara celebrations will begin with Snapana Abhishekam, and devotees will be allowed sarva darshan from 9 am, following the Ganapathi Puja, Navaratri Kalasa consecration, and Chakranavavaranarchana rituals on the first day. From October 4 to October 12, devotees will have access to sarva darshan from 3 am to 11 pm.
The EO mentioned that due to the Mahanivedana, Panchaharathulu, and Chaturveda Swasthi rituals, sarva darshan will be paused between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm daily from October 3 to October 12.
The Nagarotsavam will commence at 4 pm each day during the 10-day festival at the Malleswara Swamy temple. On October 12, for Vijaya Dasami, a Nagarotsavam procession will take place, where the presiding deities, Ganga Parvathi (Durga) Sametha Sri Malleswara Swamy, will ride on the celestial Tappotsavam (swan boat) in the Krishna River.
Meanwhile, NTR District Commissioner of Police (CP) SV Raja Sekhara Babu, along with his wife, presented the Sare (Silk Robes) to the presiding deity Goddess Kanaka Durga on Wednesday, as part of the temple's pre-Dasara tradition. Following the decades-old custom, the Commissioner and his wife offered special prayers at Ravi Chettu near I Town police station before proceeding in a procession to the Durga temple. EO Rama Rao and the temple priests welcomed them and presented the Sare to Goddess Kanaka Durga amidst priestly chants.