Over one lakh throng Tirumala shrine on Vaikunta Ekadasi day

More than one lakh devotees from all over the country thronged the famous hill temple of Lord Venkateswara at nearby Tirumala on Monday on the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadasi festival.

The presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara was adorned with huge diamond set ornaments, while the entire sprawling temple complex and its surroundings were bedecked with flowers and illuminated, a temple official told PTI.

The devotees, who had been waiting since Sunday in serptentine queues, were allowed into the shrine from the wee hours on Monday, he said.

After offering worship, they walked out through the traditionally bedecked sacred 'Vaikunta Dwarams' (passage), which is opened only on Vaikunta Ekadasi day, the official said.

A traditionally decorated golden chariot procession carrying the centuries-old Utsav idol of the Lord was also taken out around the over 2,000-year-old shrine on the occasion, he added.