Madurai, Sep 17 (IANS) The Maha Kumbabhishekam of the world-renowned Meenakshi Amman Temple was performed with religious grandeur on Thursday morning, drawing thousands of devotees to the historic city.
The consecration ceremony followed months of extensive renovation work undertaken at a cost of Rs 25 crore. As part of the project, the Veeravasantharayar Mandapam, which suffered severe damage in a fire, was reconstructed and reopened.
A magnificent yagashala comprising 184 sacred fire pits was established on North Adi Street for the rituals. Special golden pots dedicated to the presiding deities, Meenakshi Amman and Sundareswarar, were installed there.
The vessels were filled with holy water brought from several rivers, including the Ganga, Yamuna, Cauvery and Vaigai. More than 400 Sivacharyas conducted the elaborate rituals.
The first phase of the yagashala pujas began on September 11, followed by successive rounds of prayers and fire rituals. The consecration of 414 parivara deities was conducted earlier.
After the tenth yagashala puja, the sacred water pots were carried in a ceremonial procession accompanied by elephants, temple cattle and traditional music.
Holy water was poured over the shrines of Siddhi Vinayakar, Koodal Kumarar, Dakshinamurthy, Durga, Mahalakshmi, Bhadrakali, Agni Veerabhadrar, the 63 Nayanmars and the Navagrahas, among other deities.
The consecration of the golden vimanas, sanctum towers, 12 temple gopurams and other structures was also performed as thousands of devotees witnessed the ceremonies. The concluding rituals began at 3.45 a.m. on Thursday with the twelfth kala yagashala puja.
The sacred pots were taken out in procession at 5.45 a.m. and carried by Sivacharyas to the 12 gopurams, including the four majestic Rajagopurams, and the golden vimanas.
Amid devotional chants, the Kumbabhishekam of the towers was performed at 7.40 a.m. Holy water was subsequently poured over the main shrine of Meenakshi Amman and over Sundareswarar, marking the culmination of the Maha Kumbabhishekam.
Special decorations and deeparadhana followed the consecration. Devotees will be allowed to worship the presiding deities without restrictions from 10 a.m. For those unable to witness the morning ceremonies, the temple authorities arranged a procession of Meenakshi Amman and Sundareswarar through the four Masi streets at 7 p.m.
Madurai is in a festive appearance, with streets illuminated and decorated for the historic religious event.
–IANS
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