‘Ratha Sapthami’ festival is scheduled to be celebrated in the famous Tirupathi temple from 14th February.
As a tradition, during this festival, the main deity or Lord Venkateswara is taken on procession in the temple corridors/streets in 10 different carriages for 10 days, each day in 10 different carriage.
On 14th February, the main deity of the Lord will be taken on a procession around the streets of the temple on the carriage of ‘Suryaprabha’ (Sun God) at 5.30 AM. By the end of the day, during the night, the main deity of the Lord will be taken on a procession in ‘Chandraprabha’ (Moon God).
During the noon and subsequent sessions, the main deity of the Lord will be taken on procession in different carriages such as ‘Chinna Sesha Vahanam’(Smaller Adisesha or snake), ‘Periya Sesha Vahanam (bigger Adisesha or snake), ‘Anna Vahanam’ (Swan), ‘Kudhirai vahanam’ (Horse), ‘Hanumatha Vahanam (Monkey in the form of Lord Hanuman), ‘Garuda Vahanam (Garuda is the favourite carriage of Lord Vishnu and belongs to family of vultures, kites, etc).
On the occasion of Ratha Saothami festival, all other ‘Sevais’ performed in the Tirupathi Temple except ‘Suprapadha sevai’ stand cancelled.
The arrangement of Special Darshan of the Lord for differently-abled persons, senior citizens, and parents holding infants also stands cancelled.
Temporary fences are being set up in the 4 corridor streets of the temple to provide watching facility for the devotees. Arrangements for food items like ‘Anna Prasadam, milk, buttermilk, coffee, and tea are made available.
Unusually, there were far less number of devotees to Tirupathi temple yesterday (2nd February, Tuesday). Hence, the devotees in various categories like Free Darshan, Divya Darshan, and Rs. 300/- ticket Darshan did not have to wait in long queues and had Darshan of the Lord entering straight-away.
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