Tirupati: Rich tributes paid to Annamayya, Tarigonda Vengamamba

Tirupati: The Jayanthi utsavams (birth anniversary) of the ardent devotees of Lord Venkateswara, Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya and Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba were observed here on Tuesday.

Marking the occasion of the 613th Jayanthi of saint poet Annamacharya, floral tributes were paid to his statue at the RC Road junction here and there was also rendering of select Sankeerthanalu of the poet by TTD artistes at Annamacaharya Kalamandapm Annamacharya who penned 32,000 sankeertans in praise of Sri Venkateswara, lived between1408 and 1503 and was popular for his literary works and became popular as Padakavita Pitamaha.

Vengamamba, an ardent devotee of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy and Sri Venkateswara Swamy, was born in 1703 in Tarigonda village near Vayalpadu in Chittoor and went into Sajeeva Samadhi at Tirumala in 1817.

She is credited for launching Anna Prasada Vitarana at Tirumala and hence her name prefixed with sacred title Matrusri. Annamacharya project director Acharya Dakshinamurthy Sharma and other staff garlanded the statue of Vengamamba in the city.

At Tirumala, on the occasion of the 291st Jayanti of Matrusri Tarigonda Vengamamba, TTD officials paid floral tributes at Vengamamba Brindavanam (memorial) on the hills. Annamacharaya Project artistes rendering Keerthans on the occasion of Annamaya jayanthi in Tirupati on Tuesday.