MADURAI: The seventh gate of heaven (Paramapada Vasal) was opened in all Perumal temples on Monday in view of the Vaikunta Ekadesi festival. Special arrangements were made for the devotees, and police officials were deployed in large numbers to control the crowd.
The opening of the gate is the main ritual of the temple held to mark the end of day-time celebrations 'Pagal Pathu', which started on December 23, and the beginning of 'Raa Pathu'. Held in the Tamil month of Margali, the festival is celebrated for 21-days, during which the Perumal idol will be adorned with jewels and taken out on a procession through the Paramapada Vasal.
Considered as one of Divya Desam of Lord Perumal, thousands of devotees thronged the Koodal Nagar, Koodal Azhagar Perumal Temple, Alagar hills, Kallazhagar Perumal Temple, Thirumooghur, Kaalamegha Perumal Temple and Thiruppullanni, Jagannatha Perumal Temple to see the opening of the seventh gate of heaven.
Other temples such as the Kothandaramar Temple in Rameswaram, Arulmigu Prasanna Venkatachalapathi Temple in Tallakulam witnessed massive footfall on Monday. "We were able to witness the deity passing through the Paramapada vasal in the temple after waiting for several hours in a long queue," said Pavithra, a devotee who visited Arulmigu Prasanna Venkatachalapathi Temple in Tallakulam.