Annakoototsavam Held in Sri Venkateswara Vaibhavotsavam on 18th Aug

 As part of ongoing Sri Venkateswara Vaibhavotsavams in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, the unique Tiruppavada Seva otherwise known as "Annakoototsavam" was held at AC Subba Reddy Stadium on Thursday morning.

 

In Tirumala, it is a practice that on every Thursday, after the morning pooja, the Mula Virat is divested of all ornaments, flowers etc. The deity will be draped only in Dhoti and Uttareeyam. The Thirunamam Kaappu and Kasturi on the forehead of the main deity are also reduced in size. This results in the unique posture of Srivaru where one can witness the peculiar Netra Darshan (where the divine eyes of the Swamy can be seen) of the main deity. The same was replicated at Nellore SVV on Thursday much to the fascination of the local devotees.

 

This ritual was held between 8.30am and 9.30am where in heaps of tamarind rice was poured in front of the presiding deity of Srivaru in a large rectangular tub amid recitation Srinivasa Gadyam the Mantras. Yet another unique feature of this ritual was, the previous wide Naamam was peeled off and a thin Naamam was adorned on the forehead of Mula Virat just to cover the space between His eyebrows. When this happens, it is believed that the first gaze of Srivaru after opening His Eyes (because they were covered by the Naamam earlier) should not fall on mortals, because it has huge power that could not be withstand by humans. Instead, it is made to fall on the mound of "Pulihora" which acts as a veil present in front of Him, thereby sanctifying it and reducing the intensity of His Gaze. Earlier, the day started with the awakening Seva of Srivaru, Suprabhatam that was rendered at 6am followed by Thomala, Koluvu, Archana and Sattumora.

 

Rajya Sabha MP Sri Prabhakar Reddy, AP Minister for Agriculture, Sri Kakani Govardhan Reddy, TTD Ex-officio Board member Sri Bhaskar Reddy, New Delhi LAC Smt Prasanthi Reddy, District Collector Sri Chakradhar Babu, MLC Sri Kotamreddi Sridhar Reddy have participated.Among TTD officials, Potu Peishkar Sri Parathasaradhi, Annamacharya Project Director Dr Vibhishana Sharma, Parupattedar Sri Tulasi Prasad, DPP Program Officer Smt Vijayalakshmi, the religious staff including Sri Venugopala Deekshitulu, Sri Mohana Rangacharyulu were present.