Bhadrachalam, April 13: About one lakh devotees witnessed Sri Sitarama Kalyanam performed at Midhula Stadium of Sitaramachandra Swamy Devasthanam here today on the occasion of Sri Rama Navami.
Earlier, the idols of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita were brought in a procession to Kalyana Mandapam amidst chanting of Vedic hymns from the main temple. Later, the temple priests placed the idols on a silver throne. The divine wedding was performed by the temple priests under the aegis of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy.
The idols were adorned with Chintaku Pathakam, Pacchala Pathakam, Ravvala Molatradu and other gold ornaments which got made by Bhakta Ramadas during construction of Sri Rama temple by him. At 12 noon, the priests performed Mangala Sutradharana.
On behalf of the state government, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy brought Muthyala Talambralu and Pattu Vasthralu and offered them to the divine couple. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Sringeri Peetham and Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy also offered Pattu Vasthralu and Muthyala Talambralu to Lord Rama and Goddess Sita.
Ministers Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Ramireddy Venkata Reddy, P Bala Raju, government chief whip Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, MP Balaram Naik, endowments principal secretary K Ramanachary and others were present on the occasion.
The police made foolproof security arrangements to thwart any untoward incident during the festival. Warangal Range IG Anjinikumar and DIG DS Chouhan supervised security arrangements. Pushkara Pattabhishekam will be held at Midhula Stadium tomorrow. About one lakh pilgrims are expected to attend the celestial fete which is performed once in 12 years.
–Agencies