THOOTHUKUDI: Chants of "arohara" reverberated on the Tiruchendur sea shore during the consecration of Subramaniys Swamy temple, which was performed from 6.22 am on Monday. After this, theertham was sprayed on devotees using drone-mounted sprinklers.
A grand yaga salai comprising 76 homa kundams had been built and 108 Odhuvars, including 12 women, recited hymns from the Thirumurai.
Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department Minister P Sekar Babu said around five lakh people had converged on the town to witness the consecration. Besides him. "We expect more devotees to come to offer worship and required facilities are in place for them," he added.
Fisheries Minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan, collector K Elambahavath, and former union minister Pon Radhakrishnan, also participated.
According to Sekar Babu, the temple complex has been renovated at the cost of Rs 400 crore. This includes Rs 200 crore contributed by Shiv Nadar Foundation and the rest funded by the government. A few works are pending and they would be completed by October 2025, he said.
The Tiruchendur consecration is the real conference of devotees, whereas an event held in Madurai recently was a sanghi conference, he added. The temple was last consecrated on July 2, 2009.