deity. Devotees are allowed to visit the sanctum sanctorum from 6:30 am for the next five hours. The actual worship continues up to 8:00 am which consists of shodasha upachara (sixteen services). Abhisheka (anointment) is performed to the Yogananda Narasimha idol. The last phase of the morning worship is the Baliharana (pacification ceremony), where a portion of the consecrated food is offered to the spirits. Sudarshana Chakra idol is used in this phase. The morning rituals in the sub-temples follow a similar pattern, with the preliminary worship and offerings provided in each temple in succession. After 11:00 am, the temple's mid day worship begins. After half an hour, rajabhoga (main offering) is offered to the deity. The pilgrims are not allowed to visit the sanctum for the next half an hour. Rajabhoga consists of cooked rice, dal, soup, cooked vegetables, ghee and curd. Another half an hour break is given to the deity at 2:30 pm. Devotees are then allowed to visit the sanctum up to 7:00 pm. In the evening worship, which begins at 6:00 pm, begins with the Divviti Salam (salute with torches) ceremony. Two men go round the temple; one holds a torch and the other plays a drum. The rituals offered in the evening are similar to that of the morning worship. The importance given to music is the major deviation. Night offering is provided to the deity. Devotees are allowed to have a glimpse of the deity for half an hour from 8:30 pm. At 9:00 pm, sayana seva (sleeping ritual) is performed and the temple is closed. Devotees can take part in two special rituals that are conducted in the temple. One is the Nithya kalyanam (regular marriage) of the deity which is conducted every day. The other one is the Swarnapushpa archana (worship with golden flowers). It is conducted along with the morning worship rituals on every Thursday. Other notable rituals of similar nature are the Sahasranama archana (recital of thousand names), Garuda seva, and cow worship to name a few. Festivals Majority of the donations made to the Simhachalam temple are related to the conduction of festivals. The festivals are referred to with the name utsavas. Except for Kumara Punnami, almost all the utsavas are celebrated even today. The utsavas are divided into two categories: those governed by the Agama texts and the ones regulated by the customs and traditions (sishtachara). The