Thousands of devotees witnessed the much-awaited kumbabishekam of the Sri Dhandayuthapani Swamy temple in Palani on Friday. The last time kumbabiskeham was held at the temple was in 2006.
The temple town wore a festive look, when the kumbabishekam was performed between 8 a.m. and 9.30 a.m., at the third holy abode of Lord Muruga, amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns and associated rituals. As per agama sastra, the holy event is to be performed once in 12 years. The chanting of ‘Arohara’ filled the air.
The priests carried pots containing holy water on their heads from the yagasalai to the main shrine, where they were poured on the gold-plated kalasams atop the temple towers around 9 a.m., which marked the holy event. ‘Mahadeeparadhana’ was performed shortly afterwards. Flowers were scattered on the consecrated shrines from a helicopter, much to the devotees’ excitement. Yagasalai pujas with over 90 ‘velvis’ have been conducted over the past three days as part of the rituals.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, P.K. Sekar Babu and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Sakkarapani presided over the auspicious ceremony. Palani MLA I.P. Senthil Kumar, Dindigul Collector S. Visakan, Inspector General of Police, South Zone, Asra Garg, Superintendent of Police V. Baskaran and other officials were present.
Renovation of the temple was taken up at an expenditure of over ₹16 crore. Devotees were provided with various amenities including LED screens on which the holy event was live streamed while around 6,000 people were atop the hill to witness the event in person.
More than 3,000 police personnel were deployed for the smooth conduct of the events. They provided security and regulated the movement of devotees and vehicles.
