The annual celestial wedding of Lord Rama and his Consort Seetha took place at the Sri Seetha Rama Chandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam on Thursday. The temple, also known as Ayodhya of the South, is a popular destination for devotees throughout the year, especially during Sri Rama Navami when the divine wedding ceremony is conducted. The temple conducts two major events every year – the annual Bramotsavalu and MukkotiUtsavalu. The celestial wedding and coronation of Lord Rama are celebrated during Bramotsavalu, which takes place in March or April at Mithila Stadium amidst a large number of devotees.
It is an age-old tradition for the Chief Minister of Telangana to personally present silk clothes and Mutyala Talambralu to the deities during the celestial wedding ceremony. However, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has skipped the ceremony for the seventh time, leaving devotees disappointed. He is the only Chief Minister to break this tradition successively, except on two occasions. Even ministers in the Tanisha regime have followed this tradition since it was started by Tana Shah of Qutb Shahi dynasty.
Endowment Minister AIndrakaran Reddy and his wife have offered silk clothes and Muthyalatalambralu on behalf of the state government for the seventh time this year. The minister’s offering was made in the absence of the Chief Minister, who has not provided any reasons for his absence from the ceremony since 2016 when he last attended. The devotees are left anguished every year due to his absence.