The ‘pattabhishekam’ (coronation) of Goddess Meenakshi was performed on the eighth day of the annual Chithirai festival at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple here on Sunday.
P. Jayaraman, Joint Commissioner of the temple, received the ‘parivattam’, the respect originally accorded to King Tirumalai Nayak, from the ‘bhattars’. Mr Jayaraman, who received the golden sceptre from the temple priest, took it around the second ‘praharam’ of the Sannithi and then placed it beside Goddess Meenakshi to mark the handing over of power.
He also lit a ‘mega-agarbathi’ sponsored by a private company in-front of the Amman Sannithi.
Hundreds of devotees from across the nation gathered at the temple to witnesses the coronation, one of the important ceremonies observed in the temple during the Chithirai festival. Special poojas were performed for the sceptre and the ruby-studded crown.
The deity was then placed on a silver palanquin and taken in a procession around the temple.
According to legend, Goddess Meenakshi rules Madurai during the Tamil months of Chithirai, Vaikasi, Aani and Aadi while Lord Sundareswarar rules it during the rest of the year.
The wedding ceremony of Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Sundareswarar will be performed on Tuesday (April 23). Elaborate arrangements were made by the police and NCC cadets managed the crowd.
