DINDIGUL: Chants of ‘Muruganukku Arohara’ filled the air as the kumbabishekam at Palani Arulmigu Sri Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple was conducted after a long gap of 17 years on Friday. Over 200 priests chanted Vedic mantras in the Tamil language, and brought holy water collected from Ganga, Cauvery and Shanmuganadhi rivers to the ‘yagasalai’ for poojas. Further, for the first time in the state, flowers were showered on the ‘kumbams’ using a helicopter during the event.
The Palani temple is one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan. Lakhs of people thronged the temple on Friday, while many more watched the event live on the 16 LED screens, the authorities had installed across Palani. Live-streaming of the kumbabishekam was also available on YouTube. A total of Rs 16 crore was earmarked for organising the event, including the Rs 5 crore spent on the gold and silver works at the temple.
Earlier in the day, Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments PK Sekar Babu flagged off the event in the presence of Minister for Rural Development I Periyasamy and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Sakkarapani. Priests poured holy water on the ‘raja gopuram’ and ‘golden tower’ of the temple between 8 am and 9 am, while kumbaibesagam for the satellite temples followed.
South Zone DIG Asra Garg had deployed over 3,000 police personnel for regulating crowds at the event. Temporary medical centres, toilets, and drinking water facilities were also arranged near the temple.