Kartheeka Vanabhojanam festival celebrated in Seshachalam forest

Tirupati: It was the cynosure of all eyes when Lord Malayappa Swamy and his two divine consorts relaxed on the lap of nature as part of the annual festival of

Kartheeka Vanabhojanam

celebrated at

Tirumala

on Sunday.

In adherence to ancient customs, Lord Malayappa and his two divine consorts were taken out of the temple in a splendid procession to Paruveta mandapam, located deep inside the Seshachalam forests.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Jeeyar Swamis and temple priests, led by chief priest Venugopala Deekshitulu, ceremoniously carried out the ‘Snapana Tirumanjanam fete amidst chanting of Purusha, Narayana, Sri, Bhu and Neela Sooktams.

Later artists of TTD’s Annamacharya project rendered some melodious Sankeerthanas penned by saint poet Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya. This was followed by an instrumental rendition of certain Annamayya Sankeerthanas and the Harikatha Parayanam on Garudadri Vaibhavam.

Speaking to the media, TTD= additional EO AV Dharma Reddy said usually tens of thousands of devotees converge at the Paruveta Mandapam located in the dense Seshachalam forests every year to take part in the Kartheeka Vanabhojanam festival. “But this year we restricted crowd participation in this annual festival to just a couple of hundred people due to COVID-19 guidelines,” he said.

After the religious formalities were completed, community dining was organized as part of the Kartheeka Vanabhojanam at the Paruveta mandapam. Later the processional deities were brought back to the Tirumala temple on Sunday evening.


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