Tirupati: ‘Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam’, a traditional cleansing ritual, was performed at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala on Tuesday, as a prelude to ‘Vaikunta Ekadasi’.
The ritual commenced at 6 am and went on for around five hours. Temple priests, officials, and employees, led by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and executive officer (EO) A.V. Dharma Reddy, participated in the cleaning.
At the start of the ritual, all the deities, except the presiding deity, in the sanctum sanctorum were taken to adjacent chambers and were covered in a waterproof sheet.
The shrine was cleansed with an aromatic mixture called "Parimalam", which is a paste containing refined camphor, saffron, sandalwood, and vermillion, among other herbal ingredients.
This paste was applied on the inner walls, roof, and pillars inside the sanctum sanctorum as well as on the other sub-temples inside the main temple complex. This was then washed away with water.
After the cleaning, the water-proof covers were removed and the idols were taken back to their respective places in the sanctum.
The darshan lines, temporarily shut in the morning, resumed in the afternoon.
This year, Vaikuntha Ekadashi is going to be observed on December 23.
EO Dharma Reddy said TTD is making extensive arrangements for providing ‘Srivari Vaikunta Dwara darshan’ to as many devotees as possible from December 23 to January 1.
He said that the darshan will commence at 1.45 am on December 23 and conclude at midnight on January 1.
