Thousands of devotees hailed ‘Aaroora... Tyagesa...’ in ecstasy as they drew the imposing ‘Aazhi Ther,’ the sacred chariot of Sri Tyagarajaswamy temple here on Monday.
The whole town wore a festive look as the devout from various parts of the State congregated here since Sunday as the chariot rituals got under way. The event, conducted as part of the Panguni Uthram festivities, is a remarkable ritual that enriches the fame of the town and poets have heaped lavish praise on the massive beauty of the ‘Aazhi Ther,’ perhaps the biggest temple chariot in the world. When fully decorated, the chariot weighs in at 300 tonnes and rises to a height of 90 feet.
The temple has the unique order of the processional deity Sri Tyagarajar leaving His abode pretty early for the chariot festival. Accordingly, this year the processional deity arrived at the Devasiriya Mandapam on April 5 following which the decoration of the magnificent chariot commenced. On May 22 itself, the deity was ensconced on the altar of the chariot and special pujas were performed for the deities aboard the chariot since then.
On Monday, the chariot run commenced in the morning as thousands of assembled devotees tugged at the heavy, serpentine ropes to draw the ‘Aazhi Ther’ The gigantic chariot rolled on gingerly with the decorative dangles in bright hues and bells adding glitter to the car’s gait. The chariot was pulled through the four main thoroughfares around the temple complex to return to the base by evening.
While the pundits rendered the Devaram hymns, the Sivanadiyar Thirukkoottam members played the unique instruments to provide a vivacious display of bhakti through music. The chariots of Sri Neelotpalambal and Sri Chandikeswarar that followed the main ‘Aazhi Ther’ were also brought to the base in the evening.
Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Indira Banneerjee, Food Minister R. Kamaraj, Collector L. Nirmal Raj, Superintendent of Police N.M. Mayilvahanan were among the dignitaries who participated in the event.
