24-07-2025
Over 60,000 devotees throng Sundara Mahalingam temple for Aadi Amavasai festival
Over 60,000 devotees from various parts of the State thronged the Sundara Mahalingam temple atop Sathuragiri hills on Thursday on the auspicious day of Aadi Amavasai.
With huge number of devotees arriving at the Thaniparai foothills of Sathuragiri hills since late on Wednesday night, the forest officials were forced to allow them to trek the hilly terrain from 5 a.m., one hour earlier than the stipulated 6 a.m.
Special buses were operated from different parts of the district to Thaniparai. The devotees had set up tents on the farmlands in the foothills like Thaniparai, Manthithoppu, Mavoothu, where they offered their hair as part of their vow and also sacrificed goats and roosters.
The officials allowed devotees to climb up the hill upto 12 noon so that they could return to the foothills by evening.
'While large number of devotees, around 25,000, had climbed up the hills through Thaniparai, some 14,000 had come through Varushanadu region in Theni district. The rest climbed through Vazhaithoppu in Usilampatti which has got a very steep terrain,' Madurai Superintendent of Police, B.K. Arvind said.
Special pujas, abishekams and deeparathana were performed to the presiding deities, Sundara Mahalingam, Santhana Mahalingam and Palavadi Karuppasamy since early morning were performed on the occasion.
Several teams of police, forest and fire and rescue services personnel were deployed at vantage points to regulate the crowd.
