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| Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple, Bhadrachalam, AP en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: Bhadrachalam Sri Rama temple,A.P: The central sanctum sanctorum of Bhadrachalam, with the Sudarshana Chakra at the top and the miniature of the temple's deity..............
At Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple, Bhadrachalam, Andhra Pradesh, the presiding deity is Sri Rama, seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. Located on the banks of the Godavari River, this historical temple (associated with Bhakta Ramadas, a great devotee of Sri Rama) is one of the Divya Kshetrams and is also known as Dakshina Ayodhya. Vishnu appeared to Meru’s child Bhadra as Sri Rama and overlooked that Rama was a mortal human and showed up as Vaikuntha Sri Rama with four hands. There are idols of Rama's consort Sita and brother Sri Lakshmana as moolavars in the sanctum. At Sri Ramachandra swamy temple, Bhadrachalam, AP Vaikunta Ekadashi festival is an important festival being attended by lots of devotees
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| Sita Ramachandra swamy temple, Bhadrachalam, AP chivukulas.com |
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| Sri Ramachandra swamy temple, Bhadrachalam, AP. Pinrest.com |
Sri Sita Rama Chandra Swamy Devastanam Vaikunta Ekadasi Prayuktha Adhyanothsavams ( Mukkoti Utswavalu) will begin with appropriate puja protocols. On the day of Vaikunta Ekadashi festival, the utchava deities of Lord Rama, consort Sita and brother Lakshmana are taken out in a religious procession through the Uttara Dwara and will give darshan at 5 to 6 am to devotees. The traditional rituals are quite similar to those being followed in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere.
An interesting fact here is the Vaikunta Ekadasi celebrations held here are based on the traditions of Srirangam Ranganathar temple, TN. As in Srirangam and srivilliputhur, Tamil Nadu, festivities include Pagalpattu, Rapathu and Viasothsavalu The main event of the celebrations Teppothsavam ( float festival ) is organised on river Godavari in evening hours and Utta Dwaradarshnam will be held on the following day at the temple in early hours.
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| Bhadrachalam temple Ekadasi float festival .southtourism.in/ |
During the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival, Lord Rama will appear in Dasavatharams, the first one being Matcha avatar.The festival will commence with Adyayanoschavalu ritual and the idol of Sri Rama will appear in Machyavatharam and the last one is Krishna avatar. This followed by float festival ( Teppothsavam ) and Uttara Dwaradashanam. On the concluding day( Viswarupa seva will be conducted on the temple premises.
According to the Bhadradri Kshetra Mahatyam (Importance of Bhadradri) in the Brahma Purana, devotees who visit the temple here and seek the blessings of Vaikuntha Rama on the annual Vaikunta Ekadasi, shall be granted Vaikuntha propthi - salvation in Sri Vishnu's abode. The Agama text Paramapurusha Samhita has mentioned that the devotees should pray to Sri. Vishnu seated on the Garuda Vahana while being taken in the procession through the Vaikunta Dwara - North gate to fulfill their wish of gaining salvation.
On the day of Vaikuntha Ekadashi in the early morning, the utsava idols of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana on the Garuda vahanam will be carried by the Vaishnavites through the Vaikuntha Dwaram- Sorgha vassal. Later devotees are allowed to pass through the Vaikuntha Dwaram.
Yet another event as part of prelude to Vaikuntha Ekadashi, is Teppotsavam (the float festival) that is celebrated with pomp and religious fervor. A boat shaped like swan named Hamsa vahanam is used for the procession of the utsava idols on the waters of the near-by Godavari River. During the Teppotsavam 4 pm to 8 pm the entire place is well-lit, using flood lights for the benefit of devotees to enjoy this annual event with colorful fireworks at night The decorated boat carrying the idols makes five long circles in the water and normally about 26 devotees, including temple priests accompany the float procession. As at Srirangam temple, the festivities last for 21 days and Goda Kalyanam and Rathotsavam (the chariot festival) form important activities of the annual celebrations; the latter event coincides with the Makar Sankranti festival. This unique festival draws people in thousands from near-by districts as well.
Yet another event as part of prelude to Vaikuntha Ekadashi, is Teppotsavam (the float festival) that is celebrated with pomp and religious fervor. A boat shaped like swan named Hamsa vahanam is used for the procession of the utsava idols on the waters of the near-by Godavari River. During the Teppotsavam 4 pm to 8 pm the entire place is well-lit, using flood lights for the benefit of devotees to enjoy this annual event with colorful fireworks at night The decorated boat carrying the idols makes five long circles in the water and normally about 26 devotees, including temple priests accompany the float procession. As at Srirangam temple, the festivities last for 21 days and Goda Kalyanam and Rathotsavam (the chariot festival) form important activities of the annual celebrations; the latter event coincides with the Makar Sankranti festival. This unique festival draws people in thousands from near-by districts as well.
DA O, Kotha gundam will deploy more than police to control the crowd personnel
