Thousands of people from different parts of the district thronged Triveni Sangamam in Kanniyakumari for taking a holy dip after performing pujas and rituals in memory of their ancestors in view of Thai Amavasai on Friday.
The sanctum sanctorum of Shri Bhagavathy Amman Temple was kept open for special pujas at 3.30 a.m.
The presiding deity, Bhagavathy Amman, was adorned with diamond and gold jewellery. The northern gate of the temple was opened at 4.30 a.m. for devotees to offer prayers.
People who could not take a holy dip at the Triveni Sangamam in Kanniyakumari took bath in rivers and temple tanks near their habitations after performing pujas to their ancestors.
Special pujas and abishekams were performed to presiding deities in the temples in the district. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operated special buses from various destinations to Kanyakumari.
District Police had made elaborate security arrangements.
Rameswaram
Thousands of people from various parts of the country thronged the Agni theertham sea in front of Ramanathaswamy Temple here on Friday to perform ‘tharpanam’ and pay obeisance to their ancestors on the occasion of ‘Thai Amavasai,’ an auspicious day to pay respects and seek their blessings.
Right from early morning, people made a beeline to the Agni theertham seashore and two other sacred sites in the district -Sethukarai sea, near Adi Jagannatha Perumal Temple at Thirupullani and the Navapashanam sea temple in Devipattinam - and performed the rituals.
Priests specialised in performing ancestral rituals were busy throughout the day at the three sites.
After performing the rituals, amid sharp showers since the afternoon, people took holy dip in the sea and offered worship in the temples. Those who visited the Agni theertham seashore offered worship at the Ramanathaswamy temple after taking holy dips in the 22 theerthams inside the temple.
The temple was opened for devotees at 3 a.m. and after the pre-dawn ‘spatika lingam puja,’ priests performed ‘aaru kaala puja,’ after which Ramanathaswamy and his consort Parvathavardhini Ambal were taken in a procession to the Agni theertham sea at 7 a.m. for ‘theerthavari,’ temple authorities said.
After the completion of ‘theerthavari,’ the Swamy and Ambal gave ‘darshan’ to the devotees from the Agni theertham mandapam before they were brought back to the temple in a silver car procession in the evening. Temple authorities made barricading arrangements for the devotees to offer worship without hassle.
With the municipality authorities, they also made arrangements for drinking water and sanitation.
The district police made elaborate security arrangements to ensure that there was no untoward incident during the ceremony. Superintendent of Police N Manivannan, who supervised the security arrangements, said 700 police personnel and Home Guards were deployed for security.
