Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated the expanded and renovated Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple here on Monday. He was accompanied by his cabinet colleagues at the inaugural. The temple was taken up for redevelopment over five years ago, while keeping the swayambhu (self-manifested) deity untouched in the cave, and shifting the proxies to the ‘Balalayam’ for daily rituals .
The main temple and its components are built completely in Krishna Sila, a type of stone procured from Gurijepalli quarry in Andhra Pradesh, at a total cost of ₹ 248 crore. Works for gold-plating of the Vimana gopuram, a recent plan, are in the initial stages now.
Yadadri temple re-dedication, as announced by the Chief Minister earlier could not be conducted with the seven-day Maha Sudarshana Yagam — a large-scale event that was to witness thousands of priests, tens of Vaishnava monastic heads, among other national and International leaders — for various reasons.
The consecration rituals were, however, replaced with a seven-day Panchakundatmaka Maha Kumbha Samprokshanam.
On the concluding day of the Samprokshanam, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao led the rituals with the temple high priests and Executive Officer N. Geeta. Arriving here along with his family members, the Chief Minister participated in the Shobha Yatra in carrying the deities from Balalayam, amid Vedic chanting and music, to the main temple.
By 11 a.m., all the 32 Ministers, leaders and top officials reached their designated Samprokshanam sites along with families, and Mr. Rao, along with others, reached atop the Vimana gopuram. With prayers continuing for another 45 minutes, priests initiated the sanctification ritual and Mr. Rao joined in anointing the Sri Sudarshana Chakram with the holy waters.
The Samproskhanam of golden kalasams on the seven gopurams was also held simultaneously by individual Ministers amid prayers by 92 priests.
Mr. Rao and his wife Shobha performed the first prayers in the main temple’s sanctum sanctorum while the priests offered them Maha Veda Archanam. The temple’s Mukhamandapam or the main hall was filled with Ministers, their families and others as they made a beeline for the swayambhu darshan.
The Chief Minister later participated in a felicitation programme on the temple premises to recognise the efforts and contribution of experts and technicians involved in the mammoth reconstruction project . Temple Executive Officer Geeta, architects Anand Sai and P. Madhusudan, sthapathis Sunder Rajan and A. Velu were among the first ones to be feted . Other experts included engineers, consultants, 22 main sculptors and specialists.
Doors of the renovated temple were opened for devotees and general visitors for the first time for darshan after 4 p.m. on Monday. Awestruck by the construction of the grand temple, intricate sculpture work and the beautiful illumination , the visitors were all smiles, capturing the occasion on their cellphones and giving sound bytes to media persons.
