Clad in red robes, thousands of devotees made a beeline for the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri as the Bhavani Deeksha Viramana (relinquishment) began on a grand note on January 3 (Wednesday).
Having observed the deeksha for 21 days or 41 days, the devotees, popularly known as Bhavanis, walked barefoot to the temple from January 2 (Tuesday) midnight for the relinquishment rituals. They waited till dawn for the temple’s doors to open after the priests performed the daily rituals. They performed Agni Pratishtapana and lit fire in the homagundam and other rituals amid the recitation of Vedic hymns.
The temple and its downhill areas turned into a sea of red with devotees from all age groups occupying every inch of space. The devotees circumambulated Indrakeeladri as part of the Giri Pradakshina rituals and took a holy dip in the Krishna river before offering the irumudi, a twin sack containing coconut and sacred material, to the goddess. They put coconuts into the homagundam and holy pit downhill Indrakeeladri.
