It was all fun and frolic that pervaded the milieu of the ancient Paruveta Mandapam on Saturday where the Lord was taken out on a hunting safari.

The hunting expedition, an annual feature, was observed at the Paruveta Mandapam situated on the banks of the Gogarbham dam about two kilometres from the temple. Thousands of devotees took part in the mock hunting jubilations organised in connection with the Kanuma festival.

The processional deity of Lord Malayappa dressed in the royal robes of a King hunter was taken out to the venue in a grand procession which passed through the thick woods. The deity was equipped with his celestial panchayudhas like Gada, Khadga, Sankhu, Chakra and Bana befitting the occasion.

After the completion of certain religious formalities at the mandapam, the priests enacted the mock hunting game sending the audience into peels of laughter. The vahanam bearers carrying the Lord mounted atop a golden tiruchi trialled behind the temple priest who ran ahead (holding a sliver spear) and symbolically hunted down a couple deer kept tied in the nearby bush.

Devotees turned rumbustious each time the field sport was performed. In all the mock drill was repeated thrice .

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Tirumala – January 17th, 2016