The historic 17th-Century temple remained closed for devotees for the consecutive 14th day on Thursday in view of the 21-day lockdown presently in force across the country as part of measures to stem the spread of the deadly virus, The Hindu has reported.

Priests invoked divine intervention to get humanity rid of the scourge of coronavirus during the celestial wedding of Lord Rama with his consort Sita, solemnised at a simple ceremony. However the celestial wedding of Lord Rama and Sita has been overshadowed by the threat of COVID-19, in the historic Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam on Thursday.

The low-key wedding ceremony, conducted at the Nitya Kalyana Mandapam was held on the occasion of Sri Rama Navami. The festivity saw participation of a handful of elected representatives and officials besides the temple priests.

The Mithila Stadium and other surroundings of the temple complex as well as the whole temple town wore a deserted look on account of the nationwide lockdown.

The historic 17th-Century temple remained closed for devotees for the consecutive 14th day on Thursday in view of the 21-day lockdown presently in force across the country as part of measures to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

Live telecast of the entire celestial wedding from the temple complex provided the much needed solace to the ardent devotees of Lord Rama, who missed an opportunity to attend the ceremony at the famous temple, due to lockdown. In line with the age-old tradition, Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy presented “Mutyala Talambralu” and “Pattu Vastrams” on behalf of the State government to the “divine couple” – Lord Rama and Sita.

During the ceremony, the priests quoted Bhakta Ramadasu’s keertanas hailing Lord Rama as an epitome of virtues and compassion. They sang some popular compositions such as “Dasarathi Karunapayonidhi” seeking the divine intervention to bestow strength to the governments, medical professionals, police and all others engaged in a relentless fight against coronavirus to defeat the global pandemic and uphold Loka Kalyanam (universal well-being). Transport Minister P. Ajay Kumar, Mahabubabad MP M. Kavitha, Bhadrachalam MLA Podem Veeraiah, Advisor to the State government on Culture, Endowments, Tourism, Youth and Media Affairs K V Ramanachary attended.

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