Hundreds of devotees participated in the traditional ‘Somnath Swabhiman Parv’ celebrations organised at Sri Bhramarambha Mallikarjuna Swamy temple in Srisailam on Monday. The event was jointly organised by the State Endowments department and the Union Ministry of Culture.

The programme was held to commemorate 1,000 years since the attack on Somnath temple and 75 years of its reconstruction.

Temple executive officer M. Srinivasa Rao, special invitees of the Trust Board, priests, Vedic scholars, officials, and devotees participated in the day-long rituals and special pujas conducted in a traditional manner.

A special ritual — ‘Sahasra Kalasa Aradhana’ — was performed at the Akkamahadevi Alankara Mandapam in the morning, followed by a ceremonial ‘Kalasa Yatra’ in which nearly 1,000 devotees carried sacred pots through different parts of the temple complex. Special rituals and ‘Kalasabhishekam’ were later performed to the presiding deity, Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy.

The temple administration also organised a ‘Shiva Panchakshari Nama Lekhana Yagnam’, during which devotees wrote the sacred mantra in specially distributed booklets.

Religious discourses, Shiva bhajans, and cultural performances, including Perini Shiva Tandavam, were also organised at Gangadhara Mandapam in Srisailam.