Devotees witness 'Mohini Alankaram' in Srirangam Temple

Tiruchirapalli, Dec 29 (UNI) Thousands of devotees today congregated at the historic Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple at Srirangam to witness the festival deity Namperumal in the 'Mohini Alankaram,' also called 'Nachiyar Thirukkolam,' as part of the ongoing 21-day 'Vaikunta Ekadesi' here festival.

The 'Mohini Alankaram' is done once every year during 'Vaikunta Ekadesi' festival to commemorate Lord Vishnu's manifestation as a bewitching maiden to lure the 'Asuras' (demons) from the 'Amirtham' (Nectar) produced when the ocean was churned.

The traditional procession was taken out from the sanctum sanctorum amidst chanting of Vedic hymns at 0600 hrs and taken to the Arjuna Mandapam for darshan by devotees. The deity will return to the sanctum sanctorum at 2100 hours.

The temple administration has made elaborate arrangements to tackle the heavy rush of people.

'Vaikunta Ekadesi' falls tomorrow, and the deity attired in 'Rathina Angi' (vestments studded with rubies and precious stones) would be taken out of the sanctum sanctorum in the wee hours and pass through the 'Paramapada Vaasal,' also 'Sorga Vaasal' (Gateway to Heaven), followed by thousands of devotees chanting 'Ranga Ranga.' In 2006, there have been two 'Vaikunta Ekadasis,' the last one falling on January 10 last.

Police have made elaborate security arrangements. Over 2000 security personnel, including armed policemen and anti-sabotage teams have been deployed for bandobust duty.

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