Nija Roopa darshan : Devotees flood Simhachalam

Visakhapatnam: The much-awaited annual ritual of Srivarahalakshmi Nrusimha Swamy's Nija Roopa darsan in Simhachalam temple here concluded peacefully here on Tuesday.

Lakhs of people thronged the temple to witness the Lord Srivarahalakshmi Nrusimha Swamy in his original form without any decorations. According to officials, over 1.5 lakh devotees have the blessings of the Lord Simhadri Appanna by 4 pm.

After observing the annual rituals, the temple priests with blindfolds started removal of the sandal paste with which the idol is covered normally after zero hours Monday night.

After removing the sandal paste completely, they applied a small amount of the fresh sandal paste at the Lord's feet and the top of the idol.

Later, they called up the hereditary chairman of the devasthanam P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and the Poosapati royal family members.

After having the first darsan of the Lord Simhadri Appanna by the Poosapati family members, the priests performed special rituals before allowing the devotees in the long, serpentine queues.

Pilgrims came for the darshan not only from across the state, but also from Odisha, Chhattisgargh and West Bengal. The darshan was permitted from devotees in general queue lines and special queues at about 5 am.

The endowments, revenue, police, GVMC and several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) rendered commendable services to the devotees who flocked to the city braving scorching heat.

Though the traffic was stranded for a distance of 2-km on both sides of the Simhachalam, the devasthanam arranged many RTC buses to shift the devotees to and from the hill.

After having Swami Nija Roopa darsan, devotees expressed their happiness on the arrangements. "We are immensely satisfied with the rich experience of having Nija Roopa darsan.

As over two lakh devotees are expected, there will be some minor problems, but they negligible," a couple Rajya Lakshmi and P Venkata Rao from Kakinada in East Godavari said.