MADURAI: Amid a sea of devotees, the celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar was held at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple on Thursday. Following the pattabishiekam on Tuesday and thik vijayam ritual on Wednesday, the celestial wedding (Thirukalyanam) was held on the ninth day of the Chithirai festival at the temple.
As the festival is being held without restrictions for the first time since the pandemic, thousands of devotees waited in serpentine queues outside the temple from the wee hours to witness the Thirukalyanam which was held in the temple premises.
The ceremonies started at 7 am with Odhuvamurthigal singing ‘Thirumurai’. Goddess Meenakshi, Lord Sundareswarar, Lord Pavala Kanivai Perumal, and Lord Murugan were brought for the Thirukalyanam ritual by 10 am. Goddess Meenakshi was dressed in traditional green silk and other deities were adorned with jewels.
Following the customary poojas and rituals, the wedding began around 10.50 am with priests chanting hymns. Following this, the married women changed their mangalsutra, and later, devotees were allowed to have darshan at the Thirukalyana Mandapam.
About 10,000-15,000 devotees were in the temple during the Thirukalyanam and several thousands of devotees who did not get passes waited outside the temple and witnessed the rituals live on the LED screens.
Officials of the HR&CE department said special arrangements were made in and around the temple to help people witness the celestial wedding properly. Air-conditioners were used in the hall during the event.
Police sources said security arrangements were made to facilitate the movement of people and vehicles.
Owing to the crowd of devotees, traffic came to a standstill on all major roads including West Veli Street, Nethaji Road, and all four Masi streets. Dhanalakshmi, a 60-year-old from Madurai, said, “I have been attending the Thirukalyanam event for decades, but sadly, due to Covid-19, I was not able to attend it in person for the past two years. This year, it is heartwarming to attend the celestial wedding in person.”