President offers prayers at Tirumala Temple in India for third time

President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday offered prayers at the famed Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh.

President Sirisena, along with his wife Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari, son Daham Sirisena and some Sri Lankan officials, offered prayers during the ‘Suprabatham’ recitation ritual conducted by Vedic seers inside the shrine, PTI reported.

After offering worship, the Sri Lankan President was honoured with a sacred silk cloth of the presiding deity, a framed photo of Lord Venkateswara and ‘prasadam’ by A.K. Singhal, Executive Officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which governs the hill temple. Priests, amid the chanting of Vedic hymns, blessed him at Sri Ranganayakula Mandapam in the shrine, temple officials told reporters.

The TTD officials briefed President Sirisena on the importance of the temple and various rituals. It is his third visit to the temple town as Head of State since 2015. He visited the temple in August last year and in February 2015.

President Sirisena arrived in Tirupati on Saturday from Bengaluru. He left for Benguluru to fly back to Colombo.