Thousands witness Meenakshi Tirukkalyanam

Madurai: The divine wedding was solemnised on a flower-decked stage erected at the junction of North and West Aadi streets on the temple premises. Two ‘Bhattars’ (priests) of the temple, representing the Goddess and the Lord placed the diamond-studded ‘Thaali’ (mangalsutra) on the hands of Lord Sundareswarar idol and then tied it around Goddess Meenakshi idol during the auspicious time of 10.35 am to 10.50 am amid chanting of Vedic hymns.

The celestial wedding was performed as part of the ongoing 12-day annual Chithirai Thiruvizha.

A large number of women devotees renewed their mangalsutras following the celestial wedding. Later, the deities Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar were taken out in a grand procession on a palanquin and a silver elephant respectively to the Tirukkalyana Mandapam for public darshan. Tens of thousands of devotees from various parts of the country and abroad congregated at the temple to witness the grand event held after a gap of two years owing to COVID-19 restrictions.

The wedding stage set up at North and West Aadi Streets junction was decorated with 2,500 kg of different variety of flowers, including jasmine and rose, at a cost of Rs 20 lakh. The entire event was aired live through large LED screens installed in all the Aadi, Chithirai and Aavani streets around the temple for the convenience of the devotees.