Mysore/Mysuru: Thousands of devotees thronged various temples, especially those dedicated to Lord Vishnu, across the city this morning as part of Vaikunta Ekadashi celebrations. Vaikunta Ekadashi falls on the 11th day of Dhanur Masa according to the Hindu calendar.

Devotees queued up at the temples since early in the morning to pay their obeisance to the deity.

The specially created ‘Vaikunta Dwara’ was opened to devotees after priests performed customary rituals at the temples. Later, the devotees entered the temples through ‘Vaikunta Dwara’ to cleanse their sins and seek blessings from Lord Vishnu.

The celebrations at Sri Lakshmi Venkataramanaswamy Temple (Vontikoppal  Temple) at V.V. Mohalla here began at 4.30 am with suprabhata and Vaikunta Dwara Pravesha, naivedya, mahamangalarati and distribution of teertha and prasada began from 5.30 am. Devotees in large numbers were seen queuing up at the temple to seek the blessings of the deity.

Meanwhile, heavy rush was also witnessed at Sri Datta Venkateshwara Temple at Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashram on Nanjangud Road in city. Devotees were seen standing in queue from Nada Mantapa located inside the Ashram premises till the temple. Apart from the general darshan, arrangements were also made for special darshan. The temple will be open till 9 pm.

At ISKCON Temple located in Jayanagar, devotees were allowed to pass through Vaikunta Dwara from 7.30 am. Arrangements were made to ensure devotees passed smoothly through the queue to enter the temple and have the darshan of Lord Krishna. Temple will be open till 10.30 pm without closure.

Vaikunta Ekadashi was also celebrated with spiritual fervour at ISKCON Mysuru – Sri Radha Krishna Mandir at Siddartha Layout. The Mula Vigraha of the deity was adorned in Lakshmi Narayana alankara. The Utsava Murti of Sri Radha Krishna was decorated as Sri Ranganatha Swamy and Goddess Lakshmi, recreating the divine Vaikunta, the abode of Lord Vishnu and his Goddess Lakshmi. The ‘Vaikunta Dwara’ was opened at 7 am.

Similar pujas and rituals were performed at Sri Kalyana Lakshmi Venkataramanaswamy Temple on Dr. Rajkumar Road in Kalyanagiri, Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple in Vijayanagar, Sri Lakshmi Venkataramanaswamy Temple in Udayagiri, Sri Rama Mandira in Jayanagar, Sri Lakshminarasimhaswamy Temple on Kalidasa Road and other temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

Heavy rush of vehicles was seen on Mysuru-Nanjangud Road, near the Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashram and KRS Road as more and more people visited Sri Datta Venkateshwara Temple and Sri Lakshmi Venkataramana- swamy Temple respectively on the auspicious day.

Mysuru City Police had also deployed Police personnel and Home Guards to keep a vigil on the proceedings. Traffic personnel were seen managing traffic near the temples to prevent traffic jam and rush.