Vinayagar Chathurthi festival was celebrated with religious fervour across central region on Wednesday. A large number of devotees offered worship to Lord Ganapathy at various shrines in the city.Elaborate arrangements were made for the regulation of queue at Rockfort Sri Thayumanaswamy temple, where hundreds of devotees offered worship to Sri Uchi Pillaiyar.
The rituals commenced with the offering of a ‘Periya Kozhukattai’ to the presiding deity atop the Rockfort. A group of temple employees brought the ‘Periya Kozhukattai’ at about 9 a.m. and reached the sanctum sanctorum at about 9. 45 a.m. where the ‘kozhukattai’ was offered. Devotees from different parts of the State were present.
Thanjavur
Poojas and homams were performed at various temples including Ganapathy Agraharam near Thanjavur. Vinayagar idols made of clay were sold at various places in the town.
The price of the idols varied with size .
Hindu Munnani had installed big multicoloured idols at 29 places in the town. Ten feet high idols were installed at Srinivasapuram, Old Bus Stand, Medical College Road and other places. These idols will be taken in procession and immersed in Vennar.
Pudukottai
Special arrangements were made at Sri Brahadambal temple, Sri Santhanathaswamy temple and Sri Seethapathi Vinayaka temple for the Chathurthi festival.
A large number of devotees offered worship to Sri Heramba Vinayagar at Sri Bhuvaneswari temple. Special abhishekam was performed to the idol that has five faces of Lord Ganapathy.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has notified select water bodies in the town and other parts of the district for immersion of the idols of Lord Ganapathy (‘visarjanam’) marking the conclusion of the festival.
Karur
Special abhishekam, pooja, and homam marked the celebrations at various temples across Karur district. The special poojas and homam started pretty early at dawn and continued throughout the day in important temples such as the Kutchery Pillayar temple, Gandhigram Sakthi Vinyagar temple, Vennamalai Vinayagar temple, Vinayagar shrine at the Sri Kalyana Pasupatheewarar temple, Sri Pandarinathan temple, and Sri Karpaga Vinayagar temple at Chinnandankoil Road.
Elsewhere the organisers who had put up huge idols of Lord Ganesha on the street corners got busy with preparations and poojas to commence the celebrations. The organisers had put up around 150 Vinayagar idols in various parts of Karur, Kulithalai, Krishnarayapuram, Aravakurichi, Velayuthampalayam, and Thogamalai areas.
Later those Vinayagar idols would be taken in procession to be immersed in River Cauvery at the identified ghats including Thavittupalayam, Vangal, Nerur, Mayanur, and Kadambarkoil Padithurai as also Aravakrurichi and Rajapuram along River Amaravathy.
Nagapattinam
Students of Alagu Jothi Academy ushered in the celebrations by creating clay models of Vinayagar idols at Melayur in Mayiladuthurai on Tuesday.
Students of class I to XI participated in the exercise that was carried out as part of the activity under Work Education – a component of CBSE curriculum – a release said.