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.
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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.