Pomp and pageantry marked the grand celestial wedding of Lord Rama with his consort Sita in Bhadrachalam, providing a visual treat to hordes of devotees, who flocked to the famous temple town on the occasion of Sri Rama Navami on Sunday.
After the low-key celebration of the celestial wedding, devoid of devotees, for two successive years due to COVID-related restrictions in 2020 and 2021, the Tiru Kalyana Mahotsavam was held on a grand scale at the flower-bedecked Mithila stadium with thousands of devotees in attendance.
The bejeweled processional idols of Lord Rama and his consort Sita were brought to the venue in a palanquin and the celestial wedding was solemnised at an elaborate ceremony that lasted for more than two hours amid Vedic chants.
Amid heat wave conditions, the devotees watched the celestial wedding with unwavering devotion, soaked in spiritual bliss.
Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy presented pattu vastrams and mutyala talambralu to the divine couple at the celestial wedding on behalf of the State government.
The age-old ritual has been in vogue since the reign of Abul Hasan Tana Shah, ruler of Golconda, during whose period Bhakta Ramadasu (Kancharla Gopanna), constructed the temple devoted to Lord Rama in Bhadrachalam in the 17th century.
It has been a customary practice that the Chief Minister of the State presents the pattu vastrams and mutyala talambralu to the presiding deity of Bhadradri temple at the celestial wedding during the annual mega religious fete.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao did not attend the Tiru Kalyana Mahotsavam reportedly for the sixth consecutive year.
He could not attend the celestial wedding in 2019 due to the Election Commission’s model code of conduct, in the subsequent years in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-related curbs, sources said.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar, Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod, Bhadradri Kothagudem Collector D Anudeep, Khammam Collector V P Gautham, among others attended the mega religious event in Bhadrachalam on Sunday.
