Devotees turned up in large numbers on the second day of the Sakambari festival atop Indrakeeladri, the abode of goddess Kanaka Durga, here on Sunday. Temple premises and the sanctum and sanctorum were decked up with fruits and vegetables.
Devotees, including Vijayawada (Central) MLA Malladi Vishnuvardhan, also presented aashada maasam saree (a kind of presentation given to married women by parents or brothers during aashaada maasam) to the deity Kanaka Durga.
Devotees and artistes, under the aegis of the Bhagyanagar Sri Mahankali Jathara Bonala Utsavala Ummadi Devalaya Uregimpu Committee from Hyderabad in Telangana, visited the temple to offer ‘bonam’ (a pot filled with rice, jaggery, etc.) and silk robes (pattu vastralu) to the presiding deity.
Streets were abuzz with chants of devotees in praise of the goddess. The procession drew the attention of passersby, with colourful ‘potharajus’, with vermilion and turmeric smeared on their faces, dancing to the drum beats and folk artistes dressed up as demons and goddesses. Devotees offered Ganga teppa in the River Krishna and reached the Kanakadurga temple via the ghat road.
Kanaka Durga temple executive officer Dharbamulla Bhramaramba said the temple has been organising giri pradakshina on the full-moon day of every month. The last day of the Sakambari festival falls on the pournami. Continuing the tradition, the temple management has decided to hold the giri pradakshina from 6 a.m. It will start near toll gate and conclude at the temple, covering about seven-and-a-half km around Indrakeeladri, she said.
