A large number of devotees from several States converged on Kadiri to witness the annual Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Rathotsavam (locally known as Theru) on Wednesday.
The festival passed off without incident. The Rathotsavam took a couple of hours longer to conclude this year, ending at 3.54 p.m. on Wednesday instead of ending by the usual time of 1 p.m. Cries of Jaya Simha Jaya Simha and Govinda Govinda echoed across the town as thousands of devotees shouted slogans from the beginning of the festival through to the end.
The processional deities of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, along with Sridevi and Bhudevi, were taken out at the appointed hour at 8.40 a.m. amid a festive atmosphere with an estimated two lakh people witnessing the proceedings from all possible vantage points in the town. While many devotees vied with each other to pull the ropes of the chariot, many others watched on from rooftops all along the route of the Rathotsavam. Veda Pundits performed Radhaarohana before the chariot began its journey at 8.45 a.m.
