A devotee dressed as Kalika Devi performing during a procession organised in connection with Dasara festival in Guntur on Sunday.

Guntur, October 14, 2013: Dasara was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in the district on Sunday. Serpentine queues were seen at the temples since dawn to have ‘darshan’ of Goddess Sri Kanaka Durga Devi.

All the temples were illuminated and decorated for the ‘Navarathri Utsavams’ being celebrated from October 5. Goddess Durga Matha was decorated with different ‘alankarams’ in the temples.

The deity gave ‘darshan’ in different avatars of ‘Dhana Lakshmi’, ‘Sri Raja Rajeswari’, ‘Kalika Devi’, ‘Saraswathi Devi’, ‘Mahisasura Mardhini’ ‘Sri Kanaka Durga’, ‘Sri Swarna Kavacham’ and other alankarams to the devotees on the last day of the utsavams on Sunday. The city wore a festive look with the vendors arranging flower, fruit, puja material and toys shops at the shrines. The temples were reverberated with the chorus of ‘Jai Durga and Jai Kanaka Durga’

The Endowments Department and the temple managements arranged separate queue lines, ‘prasadam’ counters, drinking water and other facilities for the devotees visiting the temples.

Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Devastanam which was celebrating 92nd Navarathrula Utsavams decorated the deity with ‘Sri Swarna Kavacham’ alankaram on Sunday, said temple priests Vyakaranam Sreerama Murthy and Buddu Sai Viswanatha Sharma.

Source: The Hindu, October 14, 2013