MADURAI
As part of the Avani Moola festival, the decorated presiding deities of Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple — Lord Sundareswarar and Goddess Meenakshi — were taken out on a procession around the four Chithirai streets here on Friday.
During the festival, a total of 12 Tiruvilayadals — stories centring around various events in the lives of Lord Shiva’s devotees — were performed. The God is dressed according to the selected Tiruvilayadal of the day. On Friday, Viragu Vittunilai was observed, said Senthil Bhattar, the head priest of the temple.
Prior to this, Lord Sundareswarar’s Coronation took place on the seventh day of the festival. Over 1,000 devotees flocked to the temple and had a darshan of a bejeweled Lord Siva taking over as the ruler of Madurai.
After adorning the Lord with the headgear, priests placed a silver sceptre near Lord Sundareswarar. It was later handed over to temple ‘Thakkar' Karumuttu T. Kannan to be taken around the shrines of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar.
