MADURAI: Amid thousands of devotees, the celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar was held at the Thirukalyanam Mandapam at the Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai on Thursday.
Following the traditional rituals by the bhattars, the celestial wedding took place between 8:35 am and 8:59 am in Mithuna Lagna, with priests chanting the Vedas. The Thirukalyanam ritual was held on a special stage set at the junction of North-West Aadi Street within the temple premises.
Earlier, the ceremonies began at 4 am with Odhuvamurthigal singing 'Thirumurai'. The procession of deities, Lord Pavala Kanivai Perumal and Lord Subramaniya Swamy from the Thiruparangundram Temple, arrived at the temple by 6 am.
Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar were brought to the Thirukalyanam Mandapam by 8:15 am. Adorned in traditional green attire and gem-embedded ornaments and armour, Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar were brought to the Mandapam following a procession.
The deities will remain in the Thirukalyanam Mandapam for devotees to have darshan. The traditional wedding feast for the Meenakshi Thirukalyanam was arranged at Sethupathi School.
Being the major event of the ongoing Chithirai Festival, the temple car procession is scheduled to be held at the Meenakshi Temple on Friday (May 9) following the Thirukalyanam ritual.
Thousands of devotees gathered at the Thirukalyanam Mandapam to witness the ritual inside the temple.
State ministers P Moorthy and Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, along with other dignitaries from Madurai, were present at the temple to participate in the event. A large number of devotees thronged the Chithirai streets around the temple and watched the entire ritual through LED screens placed around the temple.
Police were stationed at all entry points to regulate crowd movement at the Meenakshi Temple. Detailed security arrangements were made in and around the temple in view of the festival.
Philanthropists were seen distributing Annadhanam around the temple specially for the festival. Despite the scorching summer heat, devotees continued to flock to the temple on Thursday. They were seen gathering under shades as the temperature began to rise in the morning hours.
"Since the seating inside the Thirukalyanam Mandapam is limited, we had to wait outside the temple and watch the Thirukalyanam ritual through the LED screens. As the celestial wedding took place at the same time as per tradition, married women who had gathered around the Meenakshi Temple changed their mangalsutra during the occasion," said S Haritha, a devotee who arrived at the temple to take part in the Meenakshi Thirukalyanam.