Thousands have darshan at Arasavalli temple

A large number of devotees had a hassle-free darshan of Lord Sri Suryanarayana Swamy in the historic temple at Arasavalli in the district on Ratha Sapthami on Friday. With the arrival of thousands of devotees from different parts of Andhra Pradesh and other States, the temple wore a festive look since early hours. The festival of Surya Jayanti began with ksheerabhisekham under the supervision of Swamy Swatmanandendra of the Visakhapatnam Sarada Peetham and chief priest Ippili Sankara Sarma. Endowments Joint Director Bhramaramba offered Pattuvastrams to the presiding deity on behalf of the State government. Deputy Commissioner N. Sujatha and the Executive Officer of the temple V. Hari Suryaprakash monitored the special prayers in accordance with the temple customs. The deity’s ‘nijaroopa darshanam’ (original form) was allowed till 2 a.m. and later the devotees had darshan of the deity in a decorated form.