Thai Poosam festival that attracts thousands of devotees was celebrated without the presence of devotees at Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple here on Tuesday.
The festival on the occasion of Poosam Star of Tamil monthof Thai at the temple, one of the six Abodes of Lord Murugan, draws devotees from various parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The devotees after undertaking fast for days walk bare-footed for hours and days and reach the temple, located on hillock, on Thai Poosam day.
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“In view of COVID restrictions, all the special pujas as per the tradition were conducted without devotees,” said temple Joint Commissioner and Executive Officer, N.Natarajan.
The temple has been out of bounds for devotees since Friday.
Even the car procession of the presiding deity was held in the inner precincts of the Periyanayagi Amman temple with only temple staff and officials from various departments. However, a good number of devotees, who have come with ‘kavadis,’ have decided to stay back in the town to have a darshan of Lord Dhandayuthapani Swamy when the temple reopens on Wednesday morning. Devotees also found their way to tonsure their heads as part of their vow, away from the temple though it has been banned by the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.
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Meanwhile, despite the ban on devotees to enter the temple due to COVID-19 threat, hundreds of devotees gathered outside Subramaniya Swamy Temple at Tiruppankundram.
The devotees, who came on foot from different parts of the district, came around the girivalam streets and offered their prayers by standing outside the temple premises.
“All the special pujas and abhishekams were held at the temple as usual without the presence of the devotees,” said the temple Executive Officer (in-charge), Kalaivanan.
Similarly, devotees thronged the Murugan temple at Solaimalai near Azhagarkoil.