Prayers never fail. Carrying this message, a large contingent of men and women, led by Madurai Mayor V. V. Rajan Chellappa of the AIADMK, witnessed the commencement of ‘Sri Satha Chandi mahayagam’ on the sprawling Tamukkam Grounds here on Wednesday.
The special puja began with the slogan, ‘All for our Amma’s wellness and her return as Chief Minister,’ coinciding with her birth star, Maham .
Elaborating on the puja, Mr. Chellappa said that 108 homa kundams had been placed and pujas started with 150 Sivacharyas drawn from major temples of the State, led by the head priest of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple here. Chanting of mantras and Vedic hymns will conclude on Thursday forenoon.
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“By performing the Chandi yagam at a single location on a large scale with 108 homa kundams, it is a belief that all wishes will be fulfilled,” a Sivacharya said.
The huge homa kundams, specially made for the puja, were drawn from different places of worship.
Apart from praying for good health and long life of party supremo Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK cadres have been performing pujas across the State.
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Those who witnessed the homam here included the Chief Minister O. Paneerselvam’s son, Electricity Minister Natham R. Viswanathan, Cooperation Minister Sellur K. Raju, MLAs, MPs and councillors.
Earlier in the day, 10,000 women offered pongal at the Mariamman Temple near the Teppakulam in the city.
The DMK and CPI (M) functionaries questioned the performance of homams and other prayers by those claiming to represent the Dravidian movement.
Former DMK MLA V. Velusamy said the State government had forgotten to perform its duties to people. All the Ministers and MLAs were either in temples offering pujas or distributing ‘biriyani’ for the welfare of their leader.
“People should realise that they made a mistake in 2011 and they should correct themselves in the 2016 Assembly elections,” said Vijayarajan, district secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist).