Thousands throng Madurai temple to witness celestial wedding
Thousands of people on Sunday thronged the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Madurai to witness the Thirukalyanam (celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar).
The wedding took place at Thirukalyana Mandapam on the 10th day of the annual Chithirai festival, which started with the hoisting of the holy ag at the temple on April 12.
Devotees queued up on the streets and entered the temple from 5 a.m., and stayed inside till the wedding procession got over around 9 a.m.
The mandapam reverberated with songs of Panniru Thirumurai and Vedic hymns. Lord Sundareswarar and Piriyavidai were brought to the decorated
Devotees queued up on the streets and entered the temple from 5 a.m.
dais in a procession that passed through the Chithirai streets. They were followed by the bride, Goddess Meenakshi, draped in a silk robe and decorated in gold.
Lord Subramaniaswamy, the presiding deity of
Subramaniaswamy Temple at Tirupparankundram, and his consort Goddess Deivanai as well as Lord Pavalakkanivai Perumal, were present on the dais as ‘guests.’
Halasiyanatha Bhattar and Sendhil Bhattar performed the holy rituals and exchanged garlands on behalf of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar.
The Thirumangalyam was placed on Goddess
Meenakshi at 8.51 a.m. Rose water was sprinkled on the deities after which a Mahadeepa aradhanai, an oering of sacred re, was performed.
During the event, many women on the temple premises and outside the temple, replaced their thali with a new sacred thread as per custom.
The deities of Lord Sundareswarar and Goddess Meenakshi were kept at
Old Thirukalyana Mandapam for the devotees to oer worship for sometime.
Ministers P. Moorthy, P.K. Sekarbabu and Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Temple Fit Person S. Rukmini Palanivel Rajan and Corporation Commissioner S. Dinesh Kumar were present during the celestial wedding.
The car festival is scheduled to take place at 6.30 a.m. on Monday.