Pushpa Yagam on Oct 26

Tirupati,Oct 20: The annual ‘Pushpa Yagam’ festival will be held at the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara on October 26 with ‘Ankurarpanam’ being performed on the previous day.In connection with the festival, the temple management dispensed with the performance of all the ‘Arjitha Sevas’ on the day except for the ‘S D Seva’, which will be conducted on regular basis.All the pre-dawn rituals including ‘Vasantotsavam’ and ‘S D Seva’ stands cancelled on the previous day to facilitate the conduct of ‘Ankurarpanam’.Special rituals like ‘Snapana Thirumanjanam’ and ‘Pushpa Yagam will be conducted inside the temple followed by the evening procession of the Lord on the festival day.

During the Pushpa Yagam lasting nearly two hours, about five tonnes of flowers were offered on the deities of the Lord and his two consorts -- Sridevi and Bhoodevi -- by the temple priests amid chanting of verses from the scriptures.The flowers were later distributed as ‘prasadam’ to the devotees, who thronged the temple to witness the new ‘seva’. ‘Veda Sathumurai’ and ‘Santhi Manthra’ recitation were also performed later for peace and tranquillity in the world and in the Indian sub-continent.The fete concludes with the procession of the deity round the four Mada streets in which a large number of pilgrims participate. The price of the Seva ticket is Rs 3,500.