DINDIGUL/THOOTHUKUDI/TIRUCHY/CHENNAI: Several lakhs of devotees arrived in Palani on the occasion of the Thai Poosam at the Dhandayuthapani temple on Sunday. The Thai Poosam chariot procession, considered the main event of the 10-day festivities that commenced on January 26, was held on Sunday, a day after the celebration of the grand celestial wedding of Lord Muthukumaraswamy with Valli and Deivanai.
Tens of thousands of devotees made their way to Palani, with many of them travelling on foot, to take part in the festivities and have a ‘darshan’ of Lord Murugan. The roads leading to Dindigul, Dharapuram, and Udumalai were packed with pilgrims.
To manage huge crowds, a designated pathway was established to guide the devotees up to the hill temple. The temple street walkway was covered to provide shade for the pilgrims travelling on foot. Queues were formed at 16 different locations and the devotees were allowed to proceed in batches.
In Tiruchendur, thousands of people, including many who had undertaken ‘padayatra’, thronged the Murugan temple. Due to heavy rush, devotees waited for more than six hours for ‘darshan’, while those who had paid Rs 100 for special darshan waited for up to five hours. The road leading to Vayalur from Tiruchy, early in the morning, witnessed the arrival of thousands of devotees undertaking ‘padayatra’ to reach the Subramaniaswamy temple, also known as the Vayalur Murugan temple, located at Kumara Vayalur in Tiruchy district.
At the Vadapalani Murugan temple in Chennai, many devotees were seen taking ‘kavadi’ and ‘paalkudam’. Those who had arrived at the temple early managed to get a quick darshan, while many others had to wait for nearly two hours.