Devotees offered worship to Lord Dakshinamurthy at the abode of Sri Aabathsagayeswarar temple in Alangudi in the district on the occasion of ‘Guru Peyarchi’ on Friday, marking the transit of the planet Jupiter from ‘Mithuna’ (Gemini) to ‘Kataka’ (Cancer).
Special yagam and puja were performed at the temple from the morning and at about 5.57 p.m., the ‘maha deeparadanai’ was performed, marking the transit of the planet. Special arrangements were made for the regulation of the crowd at the temple.
The idols of Lord Shiva, Sri Vinayaka, Sri Subramanya, and Saneeswarar were decorated with santhanakappu while Sri Guru Bhagavan was adorned with thanga kavacham. Offering worship to Lord Dakshinamurthy or Sri Guru Bhagawan at this temple is considered to protect the devotees from the adverse influence, according to the legend. Ministers Senthil Balaji, R. Kamaraj and N. Subramanian, and District Collector M. Mathivanan were present.
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operated special buses from various parts of the central region to Alangudi. The Guru Peyarchi festival was performed at all Saivite Temples and devotees turned out in large numbers. Religious rituals for the transit were performed at Sri Vasishteswarar Temple in Thittai. In Tiruchi, a large number of devotees offered worship to Lord Dakshinamoorthy at Sri Uthamarkoil and Sri Panchavarnaswamy Temple in Woraiyur.