The annual Salakatla Anivara Asthanam festival has been performed with relgious fervour in the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara on monday in Tirumala. This festival is one among the 450 important festivals that is being performed in Srivari Temple every year.
The uniqueness about this festival is that the previous year’s accounts of the office are presented before the deity by the principal officers and are taken back to signify that the ‘Lord’ finds the officers fit enough to hold their respective offices. New books will also be issued for recording finances of the next fiscal. In the temple terms, this entire process is called “Asthanam” which will be performed inside sanctum sanctorum near Bangaru Vakili in the presence of processional deities of Lord Malayappa Swamy and his two consorts.
In connection with this festival, TTD has cancelled all arjitha sevas like Visesha Pooja, Kalyanotsavam, Unjal seva, Brahmotsavam, Vasanthotsavam, Sahasra Deeplankara seva except Suprabhata seva. The Asthanam- temple court was performed at the Bangaru Vakili inside the sanctum sanctorum between 7am to 9am on Monday. The presiding deity and the utsava murthies of Lord Malayappa Swamy and chief commander Vishvaksena were decorated with the silk vastrams presented by Tirumala Pedda Jiyangar Sri Periyakoil Kelviyappan Sadagopa Ramanuja Jeeyar along with Chinna Jiyangar Sri Narayana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar as a part of the ritual. Then the temple priests offered “Coin Arti” to Lord.
Later a special set of Silk Vastrams were also presented to Lord by SriRangam Devasthanam on this occasion. Usually the TTD will gift the silk vastrams to Lord Sri Ranganatha Swamy of SriRangam once in a year during Kaisika Ekadasi Day. The SriRangam Devasthanam follows similar procedure of gifting the silk vastrams to Lord Venkateswara during Anivara Asthanam day. The Endowment Minister of Tamil Nadu Sri M.S.M.Anandan and some other official from tamil nadu gifted the silk vastrams to Lord.
Other officials of the temple also took part in this religious ceremony.
In the evening, the processional deity of Lord Malayappa Swamy flanked by His two Consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi took pleasure ride on colourfully decorated floral palanquin in Tirumala on Monday evening. As the palanquin procession passed through the four mada streets, tens of thousands of pilgrims converged to see the mighty of Lord of Lords on the tastefully decorated Pushpa Pallaki.
In evening a similar ritual of anivarastanam and offering of silk vastrams by Pedda Jiyagar Sri Tirumala Pedda Jiyangar Sri Periyakoil Kelviyappan Sadagopa Ramanuja Jeeyar along with Chinna Jiyangar Sri Narayana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar was performed at Sri Govindarajan Swamy temple here in Tirupati. Later Sri Andal was taken out for mada veedhi procession as part of 10-days on going Thiruvaadipoora Utsavam here in Sri Govindaraja Swamy Temple.
