The silver spear priest who ordered the deer hunt at Parvetu mandapam in Tirumala on Friday.
A mock hunt was observed at the Lord Venkateswara hilltop temple on Friday. Religious ecstasy marked the hunting safari organized as part of the annual Kanuma celebrations.
The processional deity of Lord Malayappa, equipped with ‘Panchayudhas’ like ‘Khadga’, ‘Gada’, ‘Bana’, ‘Sankhu’ and ‘Chakra’, was taken in a grand procession to the ‘Parvetu mandapam’ situated in the middle of dense forests, about 3 km from the main sky temple.
After completing the mandatory rituals, the priests solemnly conducted a mock hunting festival to the amusement of the thousands of devotees gathered at the site.
As part of the celebrations, while the temple priest ran ahead with a silver spear and symbolically hunted a deer, temple attendants carrying the deity on a golden litter ran from behind, making the audience laugh.
Meanwhile, the pre-dawn ritual of ‘Suprabhatam’, which was temporarily suspended after the auspicious month of Dhanurmasam, resumed at the hill temple.
Published – 16 Jan 2026 20:14 IST
