Hyderabad: The celestial wedding of Lord Rama and his consort Sita was celebrated with religious fervour at the historical 17th century Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Temple at Bhadrachalam of Telangana on Thursday.
At around 12 noon in ‘Abhijhit Lagnam’ the ritual of ‘Jeelakarra Bellam’ followed by ‘Mangalya Dharana’ was performed, amidst chanting of vedic hymns, as part of the celestial wedding ceremony.
Later the priests performed ‘talambralu’ in a colourful manner. Sri Rama Navami, marks the birthday of Lord Rama.
The celestial wedding was held on a grand scale with the participation of thousands of devotees from across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Several dignitaries, including Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Telangana High Court Judge P Naveen Rao, and Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram have attended.
Telangana Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy presented silk clothes on behalf of the state government to the presiding deity of the temple during Kalyana Mahotsavam.
It has been a tradition for centuries to present offerings on behalf of the state to Lord Rama and Goddess Sita on Sri Rama Navami.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made, with over 2,000 police personnel deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the celebrations.
In temples across the state, special pujas were performed by devotees to mark the occasion.
In the state capital, several religious organizations took out shobha yatras in many areas.
The State Road Transport Corporations of both Telugu states plied special buses for the benefit of devotees attending Sri Rama Navami celebrations at the Bhadrachalam temple.
Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao greeted the people on Sri Rama Navami.
