Every year on 25th, 26th and 27th of March, the sun's rays
fall on the main murti worshipped at the Sri Veda Narayanaswami Temple at
Nagalapuram near Tirupati between 1800 hrs and 1815 hrs. On the first day, the
rays fall on the feet, on the second - on the chest and on the third on
the forehead. The temple is located on the Chennai – Tirupati Highway and is
around 81 km from Chennai and 70 km from Tirupati. The shrine is dedicated to
the Matsya Avatar Murti of Vishnu.
Story
Legend has it that Surya, sun god, pays his respects to Lord
Vishnu by shedding his rays on Him and warming Vedanarayana Swami who had to
fight a long battle with Somakasura in the cold waters of the ocean to retrieve
the Vedas.
Architectural Wonder
This holy event has been happening in spite of the fact that
the distance between first prakaram and the sanctum sanctorum is more than 600
yards and has many structures in between. It is yet another example of the architectural
wonder of ancient Hindu world. The darshan of the lord at the time of shower of
the sun rays is believed to be most auspicious.
Three day Surya Seva Festival and Pujas
Special festivities mark the three day when the divine rays
of the Sun touch the presiding deity. Following the vykhanasa agama tradition,
apart from the regular sevas, snapanatirumanjanam for the utsavamurthis is
performed in the late afternoons followed by special offering of naivedyams for
the Lord.
The divine event of falling of the sun rays on Vedanarayana
Swami is followed by punyahavachanam in which the temple and its surroundings
are consecrated with holy waters.
The utsava murti of Vedanarayana Swami then goes
around the streets in a procession along with his consorts to provide darshan to
those who couldn’t come to the temple. This procession
culminates in the Float Festival where the utsavamurthis float around the
Vedapushkarani, the sacred tank of the temple showering their benign blessings
on everyone.
Special pujas are repeated on all three days.