The idol of Athi Varadar was set to return to its underwater chamber inside the Ananthasaras tank at the Sri Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram in the wee hours of Sunday, after 1 crore devotees flocked to it for darshan over the past 48 days.
The idol, made of fig wood, was brought out of the tank after 40 years and placed in the Vasantha Mandapam for devotees to have darshan . Once immersed, it will remain inside the tank for another 40 years. The chamber inside the tank has a brick floor and granite walls, and the idol will be kept in sayana kolam (reclining posture), facing east.
At 6 p.m., the utsava idol of Sri Devarajaswamy was brought out to the Vasantha Mandapam, where it stayed for 10 minutes near Athi Varadar. After this, the doors to the mandapam were closed to allow the priests to apply 60 kg of sandhanadhi thailam, containing various herbs, on the idol. This was done to prevent fungus attacks.
Vaishnavite scholar Akkaarakani T. A. Srinidhi said that it is believed that in Kali yuga, aadhi seshan does puja to Sri Devarajaswamy and to Athi Varadar. Inside the chamber, there is a nagapasam stone near the head of the idol, held in place by more naga stones.
