Ecstasy marks ‘Pushpa yagam’ at Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh

Around nine tonnes of traditional, aromatic and ornamental flowers of varied hues used in the ritual

Religious ecstasy marked the annual ‘Pushpa yagam’ at the temple of Lord Venkateswara here on November 1 (Tuesday).

The processional deities of Lord Malayappa and his two consorts were seated on an altar at the Kalyanotsava Mandapam, where the priests ceremoniously performed the festival.

The priests offered floral ‘aahutis’ to the deities to the recitation of holy texts by the Vedic scholars.

Around nine tonnes of traditional, aromatic and ornamental flowers of varied hues such as ‘chamanti’, ‘mogali’, ‘kanakambaram’, lilies, lotus, and ‘sampangi’, and leaves such as ‘maruvam’, ‘panneraku’, and ‘bilvam’ were used in the festival.

Soon after conclusion of the daily rituals, ‘Snapana Thirumanjanam’ was conducted to the deities as part of the festival, the ‘ankurarpanam’ for which was carried out on Monday evening.

Earlier, TTD Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy, along with employees and Srivari Seva volunteers, carried the flowers in a grand procession from the garden office and handed them over to the priests inside the temple braving incessant rain.