Clad in black dresses and carrying “Irumudi” atop their head, as many as 150 devotees who set off on a 1,148 km ‘maha padayatra’ from Hyderabad to Sabarimala in Kerala for the eighth successive year, reached Kurnool on the eighth day of their pilgrimage.
The devotees from Srinagar Colony, Ziaguda, Karwan and other places in Hyderabad, Banswada in Nizamabad and Shadnagar and Shamshabad in Mahabubnagar district, began their devotional journey after performing ‘padi puja’ in Sri Venkateswara temple at Srinagar Colony in Hyderabad on November 6. After a 41-day trek, the Ayyappa devotees will enter the Sri Ayyappa Swamy temple ‘sannidhanam’ at Sabarimala on December 12.
While Ayyappa devotees all over the State undertake ‘deeksha’ for 41 days, perform puja daily and set off by various modes of transport to Sabarimala, a Guruswami Venugopal of Hyderabad, who is no more, not only conceived the idea of the devotional trek to Sabarimala eight years ago but led the first maha padayatra from Hyderabad, an ayurvedic doctor Sankar Swamy, who is a member of the troupe told The Hindu .
Meka Srinivasa Rao, chairman of Suvarnabhoomi Developers Private Limited, has been sponsoring the Suvarnabhoomi Sabarimala maha padayatra and Guruswamis P. Vasanth Kumar Swamy and Vinay Swamy, of Banswada in Nizamabad district are leading the maha padayatra and performing abhishekam and padi pooja to Sri Ayyappa Swamy daily in cities or towns en route every day.
The devotees began their journey in Hyderabad on November 6 and are expected to reach Sabarimala on
December 12
