Tirupati: Lord Malayappa Swamy, seated atop the golden Garuda, was taken through the four Mada streets at Tirumala on Saturday evening as thousands of devotees gathered for the Garuda Vahana Seva, the main event of the annual Brahmotsavams.
Devotees began occupying the galleries early in the morning, with many who had witnessed the Mohini Avataram staying back for the evening procession.
By afternoon, all 190 galleries along the four Mada streets, with a combined capacity of 1.8 lakh devotees, were filled.
The Garuda Seva began at 6.30 pm as the vahana emerged from the Vahana Mandapam amid chants of “Govinda, Govinda”. The procession moved through the Mada streets, allowing devotees to have a view of the deity.
Lord Malayappa Swamy was adorned with the Makara Kanti, Lakshmi Kasula Haram and a diamond-studded crown. Arc lights illuminated the deity and the golden Garuda.
“The wait was long, but we wanted to stay for Garuda Seva after watching Mohini Avataram in the morning,” said Subash Hegde, a devotee from Bengaluru.
Tamizh Selvi, a devotee from Tiruvallur, said Garuda Seva was the main reason for her visit during the Brahmotsavams.
The Garuda Vahana is an important part of the Tirumala Brahmotsavams. Historical inscriptions at the Tirumala temple dating to 1530 also mention the Garuda Vahana.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) arranged food, beverages and drinking water for devotees in the galleries. Around 2,000 Srivari Seva volunteers were deployed for distribution, crowd management and child tagging. Around 600 TTD employees were also deployed, with senior officers overseeing arrangements at key locations.
TTD trust board chairman Bollineni Rajagopal Naidu, Executive Officer Muddada Ravichandra and Additional EO Ch. Venkaiah Chowdary inspected the galleries. TTD CVSO K.V. Murali Krishna and Tirupati SP L. Subba Rayudu monitored crowd movement in the galleries and outside the queue lines
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
