Tirupati (AP), Jan 11 (PTI): An age-old sacred purificatory ritual was on Tuesday conducted at the ancient hill shrine of Lord Sri Venkateswara at nearby Tirumala as a prelude to the auspicious Vaikunta Ekadasi to be observed on January 13, a temple official said.

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As part of the 'Koil Alwar Thirumanjanam', the sprawling temple complex was cleansed amid chanting of Vedic hymns by priests with officials and staff, using a paste mixture made of rich aromatic ingredients including herbs, roots, camphor and turmeric.

The inner sanctum of the shrine, huge stone pillars, walls and sub-shrines were cleansed, the official told PTI.

During the four-hour long cleaning ritual that began at the crack of dawn, the 9-foot-high presiding deity of Lord Sri Venkateswara was wholly secured under a specially made cotton cloth protecting cover, the official added.

After the cleansing ritual was over, priests performed some special pujas to the main deity in the inner sanctum of the ancient shrine.

Later, the devotees waiting in the massive queue complexes were permitted to throng the shrine for worship, the official added.

Meanwhile, the second ghat road leading to the hill shrine that was closed for vehicular traffic following huge damage to the route after massive boulders fell on it due to rain triggered landslides on December was opened this evening after repair works were carried out, the official said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)