A sea of devotees in Tirupati to witness wedding of 'Lord of Riches'

Tirupati: To revel in the happiness of the celestial wedding of Lord Venkateswara. The three-day festival of 'Padmavathi Parinayotsavam' played host to thousands of people as they celebrated the wedding. The festival is celebrated every year in Tirumala and this year, it commenced on May 13. 

On the first day, the 'Lord of the Riches' and goddesses Sridevi and Bhudevi were seen donning jewellery and floral garlands.

Covered in antique jewellery, the goddesses were seen sitting 'Gaja Vahanam' and two palanquins. 

The Lord and his consorts were carried to the venue in an elaborate procession. The venue of the wedding is the Narayanagiri gardens. The venue has been transformed to the Dasavatara Astalakshmi mandapam by the garden department of Devasthanam. 

The entrance of the venue was covered with Astalakshmi figurines and around 10 incarnations of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu were seen on top of the mandapam. To add more light and fervour to the setting, the venue was decorated with architectural lights as well. 

A group of around 60 people from Bengaluru decorated the Unjal platform. People from Pune and Chennai provided 25,000 different flowers, five tonnes of fruits like apple, oranges, mango, pineapples and bananas for decoration of the Unjal mandapam. 

The wedding ceremony was started by the priests of the Tirumala temple. Lord Venkateswara and goddess Padmavathi were seated opposite each other for the ceremony. The wedding was conducted according to Hindu traditions. With hymns being chanted in crescendo, the ceremony was conducted in the presence of thousands. The Lord and his consorts were taken back to the temple after the ceremony was over.