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As the country celebrates Navratri with full festivity, the deity at the famous Sri Kanyaka Parameswari temple in Visakhapatnam, was decorated with 6 kg of gold, Rs 4 crore in cash, and 10 kg of silver.
Devasthanam Sangha President Arishetty Dinakar and Secretary Penugonda Kamaraju said that on Thursday, the eighth day of the Sharan Navaratri celebrations, the Goddess was decorated in the form of Sri Mahalakshmi. On this occasion, early in the morning, Mother's Moolavirat was anointed with 108 types of dravyas like milk, curd, sandalwood, honey, and different kinds of fruit juice, and Mother was decorated with various flowers in the form of Sri Mahalakshmi, adorned with golden clothes and 108 golden flowers. Around six kg gold ornaments, gold sari, gold crown, gold biscuits, and ten kg silver articles along with silver biscuits worth four crores of Indian currency including one rupee, two rupees, five rupees, ten rupees, 20 rupees, 50 rupees -- were found in the temple sanctum. Devotees have expressed amusement to see the decoration made with currency notes of rupees, hundred rupees, two hundred rupees, and 500 rupees. Vainam, who transformed the entire sanctum sanctorum into a treasury, impressed the devotees. On this occasion, the Chairman of the Sharannavaratri festival committee, Kadimishetti Venkataramana, Vedullapalli Srinivas Rao, and Pusarla Sanjeevi said, "Since the last 22 years during the Sharannavaratri festival, goddesses are decorated with currency notes, gold and silver ornaments in the form of Mahalakshmi avatar." "This decoration was done with the money given by the devotees themselves and after a day the money would be returned to the devotees. It is the deep belief of the devotees that if they put their money in the decoration of the goddess, the businessmen will develop their business and the common people will be financially supported," he added. Afterward, members of the women's section recited Devi Bhagavatam, Bala Tripura Sundari Devi Japam, and Lalita Sahasranamam in the Devasthanam Asthana Mandapam. In the evening Ashtalakshmi Puja was performed collectively for 200 women in the temple mandapam under the leadership of RBB Kumar Sharma. He said that the devasthanam has provided all the materials required for the puja to all the devotees who participated in the mass pujas and that all the devotees have been given Maha Prasad. (ANI)
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