Hyderabad: Uttara Dwara Darshana on Vaikunta Ekadasi considered auspicious

Hyderabad: Devotees stumped the bid of the endowment officials to make money selling pricing the entry through Uttara Dwara Darshanam uniquely during the auspicious Vikunta Ekadasi occasion at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Srinagar Colony on Monday.

It may be mentioned here walking through the Uttara Dwara to take the darshan of Sri Venkateswara Swamy or any Vishnu temples is considered auspicious. It is the most sought-after darshan by the devotees with spiritual significance and believed would bring good tidings in life.

The temple authorities of the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple on Monday found a good occasion to make a killing business and have devised two queues for the devotees for darshan. One is a dharma darshan or free darshan for the devotees. The second one is a special darshan for which the devotees have to pay Rs 100 entry fee.

The difference between the two is: in the case of free darshan, the devotees will have to go through the queue lines put up in serpentine lines. In the case of special paid darshan, the devotees pass through a queue line put up in a straight line.

But, the distance between the main entry gate of the temple and the sanctum sanctorum for darshan is not more than 400 to 500 feet says, S Nagesh Reddy.

Nagesh has come along with his family members to take darshan the presiding deity through Uttara Dwara Darshan. He said Rs 1000 is no problem for him to purchase tickets for special darshan for his family. But, most of the devotees who purchase special entry tickets for darshan even in Tirumala do not like paid entry tickets for Uttara Dwara Darshanam on Vaikunta Ekadasi. "It has spiritual significance and families prefer to take the free queue. As they feel puting a price tag for Uttara Dwara Darshanam is wrong."

Lavanya G, who has come to take darshan said it is baffling to see the conduct of the temple authorities. The queue lines show how the temple authorities would not hesitate to make money on every possible opportunity from the devotees visiting the temples. The distance between the main entry gate and the temple maybe around 500 feet. They wanted to exploit the devotees by putting a price on the Uttara Dwara Darshan, a religious traditional belief of the devotees.

When contacted the temple sources said that the Rs 100 special entry tickets were found takers in the morning. As the day passes people selected to go through the free darshan and fewer or none take special entry tickets afternoon. This has made the temple authorities allow everyone through both the special darshan and free darshan queues with none coming to buy tickets.