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Time of India
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Thousands Throng to Celebrate Meenakshi Sundareswarar Celestial Wedding in Madurai
Madurai: Amid a sea of devotees filling the air with intense devotion, the and , the highlight event of the 12-day annual Chithirai festival, was held with the tying of the divine knot amid the chanting of Vedic hymns at the Sri in Madurai city on the 10th day of the Chithirai festival, devotees started lining up in numbers from as early as 4 am at the temple to catch a glimpse of the grand 'Thirukalyanam' ceremony. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A traditional stage decorated with several tonnes of flowers was set up at the junction of North and West Aadi streets inside the temple premises. Deities of Lord Sundareswarar, Goddess Piriyavidai, and were taken out in a procession around the Chithirai streets before being brought to the stage. Lord Subramaniaswamy from the Subramaniaswamy Temple at Thiruparankundram, Goddess Deivanai, and Lord Pavalakkanivai Perumal also graced the Meenakshi was decked majestically in a maroon-coloured silk saree, whereas Lord Sundareswarar was dressed in a white silk veshti (dhoti). Both deities were decorated with gold jewellery and flowers. Two priests enacted the celestial wedding as Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar and exchanged garlands. Amid the chanting of hymns, the wedding ceremony was held between 8:35 am and 8:59 am, with the divine knot tied at 8:53 am. Flowers were showered on the deities, and then 'Deeparadhanai' was performed under the gaze of enthralled per an age-old tradition, married women devotees gathered inside and outside the temple changed their 'thali' (sacred marriage thread) during the wedding ceremony. "I was thankfully able to witness the celestial wedding in the temple this year by getting a ticket. This is my second time. It is said that Goddess Meenakshi herself should grant the blessing to anyone to be able to witness this divine sight. We all feel extremely blessed," said N Sri Devi, a 34-year-old screens were set up at 20 locations for devotees outside the temple. More than 3,000 police personnel were deployed for security arrangements in and around the temple, and barricades were set up to streamline devotees' entry and exit. There was brief tension as a newly-married couple were looking to exchange the sacred marriage thread to offer prayers outside the temple but had to do it separated from relatives amid police personnel trying to regulate a chaotic crowd. After the celestial wedding ended, thousands lined up for the delicious wedding feast. Many devotees also eagerly paid 'moi' (offering/wedding gift) outside the temple and received a gift temple 'Thakkar' or 'fit' person, S Rukmini Palanivel Rajan, Tamil Nadu Information Technology Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes and Registration Minister P Moorthy, and other dignitaries, including people's representatives, judges, and senior officials, were present for the celestial wedding ceremony. In the evening of the same day, thousands of devotees thronged the four Masi streets to catch a glimpse of Goddess Meenakshi brought for a procession on the 'Poo Pallakku' or floral palanquin.
The Hindu
08-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Devotees from far and near throng Meenakshi temple to witness celestial wedding
Thousands of devotees from far and near thronged Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai on Thursday to witness the grand 'Thirukalyanam' (celestial wedding) of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar on the 10th day of the annual Chithirai festival. The celestial wedding, the highlight of the festival, took place at the flower-bedecked Thirukalyana Mandapam between 8.30 a.m. and 8.59 a.m.. The 'Thirumangalyam' was placed on Goddess Meenakshi at 8.55 a.m. amid chanting of hymns. Lord Sundareswarar, Goddess Piriyavidai and Goddess Meenakshi were brought to the decorated dais following a procession along the Chithirai streets amid chants from the devotees. The 'wedding guests', Lord Subramaniaswamy, the presiding deity of Subramaniaswamy Temple at Tirupparankundram, His consort Goddess Deivanai and Lord Pavalakkanivai Perumal, arrived at the venue. The deities were dressed up in silk attires and decked up in gold. U. Shunmuga Sundara Bhattar and V. Karthikeya Bhattar performed the holy rituals and exchanged the garlands on behalf of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar. As the 'Thirumangalyam' was placed on Goddess Meenakshi, women devotees replaced their 'Thali' with a new one as per custom. It is believed that the ritual strengthens their marital bond. Rose water and flowers were sprinkled on the deities followed by the 'maha deeparadhana'. Later, the deities were taken to the old 'Thirukkalyana Mandapam' on the temple premises for the devotees to offer their prayers. Outside the temple on the four Chithirai streets, the devotees gathered in large numbers and watched the grand event telecast on huge LED screens. The devotees started pouring into the venue as early as 5 a.m. and stayed till the end of the event. The devotees paid 'moi' outside the temple and were given a receipt and a gift bag containing a mangalsutra, vermilion powder and pictures of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar. Following the celestial wedding, the devotees headed to Sethupathi Higher Secondary School for the Thirukalyana Virundhu (marriage feast). Ministers for Commercial Taxes and Registration P. Moorthy, Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Chairperson of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple Board of Trustees Rukmini Palanivel Rajan, Madurai Collector M.S. Sangeetha, Corporation Commissioner Chitra Vijayan, Commissioner of Police J. Loganathan, MLAs, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department officials and others were present at the event.
The Hindu
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Learning lessons from 2022 stampede incident, policing should be improved during Chithirai festival, says Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan
'As we have already witnessed the obvious fault lines in traffic management and crowd control that caused the death and stampede of devotees during 2022 Chithirai festival, we should be extra cautious during this year's festival arrangements,' Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan has said. The remarks came at a Chithirai festival preparatory meeting held here on Sunday. A study conducted following the incident revealed that of the 200 vehicles on Government Rajaji Hospital Road, more than 100 were parked permanently. Hence, in order to prevent such incidents, police should ensure zero parking in crucial areas 24 hours prior to the event, he said. As major construction works were under way at Goripalayam and other areas, they should be tightly secured and all other places posing danger to the public should be barricaded and restricted. Akin to the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) pass system or QR code pass system, which were used during the Tiruvannamalai temple event, a similar pass was to be introduced for the Chithirai festival too, he added. 'The system has been introduced to rule out misuse of pass by the public and VIPs,' he further said. He also directed the district administration to deploy senior revenue officials or senior police officials at VIP and VVIP entrances. 'Senior officials would be more suitable to handle important visitors trying to flout the entry rules. Also, in case of VIPs, the situation should be handled calmly and CCTV recordings can be perused for further action.' Instead of allowing devotees to the last temple point, they should be controlled even before the buffer zone of the temple for better crowd management. Learning from past experiences, police, revenue and temple administration officials should work together for better crowd management, he said. Ruling out Mr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan's statement that the 2022 fatal stampede was due to police mismanagement, Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P. Moorthy said the unfortunate event that took place near Thevar statue at Goripalayam had nothing to do with the Vaigai river event. 'The failure of the temple administration to stop Lord Kallazhagar at the 'mandagapadis' caused the devotees to flood the venue to witness the deity,' he said. Madurai City Police Commissioner J. Loganathan said that as a precautionary measure more than 700 police personnel were to be deployed around the temple during the celestial wedding (thirukalyanam) event and 60 teams were to be deployed during Lord Azahagar's entry into the Vaigai. Madurai Lok Sabha MP Su. Venkatesan said that frequently reported issue of the police department and judiciary misusing the event passes should be regulated strictly. On crowd management, he said in addition to deploying police personnel on the left side of Albert Victor bridge, the right side of the bridge, where thousands of people gather to donate hair, should also be monitored and controlled. Also, water facilities should be arranged in all places to prevent devotees from getting dehydrated due to the scorching heat. Officials complained that the State Highways Department was showing slackness in clearing the construction works at the flyover near Goripalayam. The Ministers instructed the district administration to expedite the works and also to clear the water hyacinth in Vaigai River. Collector M.S. Sangeetha, Mayor Indrani Ponvasanth, Corporation Commissioner Chitra Vijayan, Superintendent of Police B.K. Arvind were among those present.
