Hundreds of devotees offered worship at the Sri Mangalanathar Swamy Temple at Thiru Uthirakosamangai near here on Monday on the eve of ‘Arudra Darshan’ as the temple authorities unveiled the rare emerald Nataraja idol anointed with sandal paste for darshan. This event takes place once a year.
People from the district, neighbouring districts and various parts of the State visited the historic temple, famously known as ‘Dakshina Kailash’ to take a glimpse of the Nataraja idol during the annual event as the temple priests, amid chanting of mantras, opened the sanctum sanctorum after 9 am for public darshan.
After removing the sandal paste, the priests performed 18 types of ‘abishekams’ before presenting the 1.8 metre tall ‘Maragatha’ Nataraja idol, believed to have been carved out of deep green single emerald stone for public darshan. Devotees waited in long queues and offered worship as the district police threw a massive security cordon.
Devotees received with reverence, the dry sandal paste, removed from the idol as ‘prasadam’. Raja Kumaran Sethupathi, Rani Lakshmi Nachiar, Collector S. Natarajan and Superintendent of Police Omprakash Meena were among others present on the occasion. ‘Sethupathi Rani’ RBK Rajeswari Nachiar, hereditary trustee, Ramanathapuram Samasthanam Devasthanam had extended the invitation for the event.
V. Mahendiran, Diwan and Executive secretary of the Devasthanam said the idol would be kept open for darshan till the wee hours of Tuesday, after which, the priests would perform second set of ‘abishekams’ and close the sanctum sanctorum after anointing the idol with fresh coat of sandal paste.
Arrangements were made for the devotees to witness the ‘abishekams’, darshan and offer worship. The temple authorities had also made drinking water and sanitation facilities for the devotees.
The district administration has declared a local holiday on Tuesday for the people to visit the temple and offer worship.
The district police have put in place, tight security arrangements to prevent any untoward incident. More than 500 police and home guards were deployed to regulate the traffic. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operated special buses for the convenience of the devotees.
