Five Shaivite temples in Tamil Nadu are gearing up for night-long Mahashivaratri celebrations on February 18.
The celebrations will be organised in open grounds by the Kapaleeshwarar temple in Mylapore in Chennai, Nellaiappar temple in Tirunelveli, Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai, Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur and Patteeswarar temple in Perur, Coimbatore.
Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, P.K. Sekarbabu on Thursday, inspected the ground belonging to the Nellaiappar temple in Tirunelveli where the events will be held. “We are organising religious discourses, pattimandram, musical and dance programmes, stalls from famous temples, sale of religious books and prasadams and a display of traditional instruments at these locations,” he said.
Last year, the festivities were conducted in a ground near the Kapaleeswarar temple alone. “We had expected a smaller number of devotees, but people kept coming through the night and over 50,000 persons ended up coming. This year, we have expanded the celebrations to four more locations. These events are apart from the pujas that happen regularly inside the temples,” the Minister said.
Since large crowds are expected at the event sites, police personnel, fire service personnel, drinking water facilities, toilets and ambulances would be arranged, he added.
