Lakhs witness Bharani Deepam lit atop Annamalai Hills

At the stroke of 6 pm, soon after the Ardhanareeswarar deity was taken around the `Dwajasthambam’ of the famous Lord Arunachaleswarar temple, the Maha Deepam was lit atop the hills, amidst chanting of ‘Annamalaiyarukku Arogara’ by the teeming devotees.

On the hilltop, the Maha Deepam was lit in a giant ‘copra’ (copper utensil), filled with more than 3,500 kg of ghee and two kg of camphor. A wick measuring more than 1000 m was made using special cloth (gadda) and inserted in the cauldron to light the deepam, which could be seen from miles around for nearly ten days.

Due to restricted entry, special tokens were given to only 2,500 people to climb atop the hills to witness the deepam.

The district administration has banned carrying of plastics in the town and has also announced gold and silver coins as gifts (by drawing of lots) to those pilgrims carrying jute and cloth bags during their visit.

Earlier in the day, after the temple was opened at 2 am, it was followed by special abishekams and deepam aradhana for the panchamurthis. At 4 am, the Bharani Deepam was lit by sivacharias in the Arunachaleswarar temple’s Artha mandap from the yagam already created.

The inflow of pilgrims was quite heavy when compared to previous years as the deepam was lit on the eve of the auspicious Pournami (Full Moon Day).

Right from Monday evening, devotees started converging in the temple town, arriving by all modes of transport, including special trains and buses.

The State government operated more than 2,600 special buses to the temple town on the occasion.

Heavy security was in place for the festivities as nearly 25 lakh devotees descended on the temple town for the pournami girivalam which began at 11 am on Tuesday and will continue for 24 hours. CCTV cameras and watchtowers manned by police ensured a hassle-free experiencefor visitors.

Lighting of the Bharani Deepam was witnessed by HR&CE Minister Sevoor S Ramachandran, High Court judges R Mahadevan, D Krishnakumar and PT Adhikesavalu, HR&CE Commissioner Phanindra Reddy, District Collector KS Kandasamy, North zone IG P Nagarajan, Vellore range DIG N Kamini and Superintendent of PoliceMR Sibi Chakravarthi.