Thousands of devotees gathered in Bhadrachalam to witness the teppotsvam (float festival) as part of the Mukkoti vaikunta Ekadasi festival. The festival took place on the evening of Friday at River Godavari. Lord Rama, along with Sita Devi and Lakshman swamy, rode in a specially decorated hamshavahanam, while Vedic pandits chanted mantras.
To mark the occasion, colorful crackers were fired from all sides of the river. Devotees and VIPs from neighboring states came to have darshan (sacred sight) of Lord Rama. The program was conducted with devotees chanting “Jai Sri Ram…Jai Sri Ram.”
Lord Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana were brought to River Godavari in a ceremonial procession at around 4:30 pm. During this time, devotees performed Kolatam dance and priests chanted mantras. The priests consecrated the deity on a beautiful float called HamsaVahanam.
Special prayers were offered to the deity on the float until 6 pm, accompanied by colorful fireworks illuminating the sky.
