Giant cauldron reaches Arunachaleswarar temple

TIRUVANNAMALAI: The giant cauldron in which holy fire burnt non-stop for eleven days atop the 2,671 feet high Annamalai hills reached the Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar temple around noon on Saturday.

It was brought down by a team of ‘Deepa Nattars’ who had a tough time bringing the vessel as it was bigger than the cauldron used last year and hence weighed more.

Temple officials said, “this year the cauldron (kopparai in Tamil) was made of copper unlike last year’s vessel which was made of bronze. We found that the very high temperatures generated by the continuous fire for eleven days melted the vessel in some spots, last year.”

“Also the new vessel was bigger with a height of 5.5 feet and hence consumed more fuel and wick. Contrary to the usual 1-kilometre-long wick which is fed in pieces, this year nearly 5,000 metres of wick was used in addition to 5.5 tonnes ghee. “Usually the consumption is around 4.50 tonnes,” the official added. The intense heat was due to the wick being fueled by camphor, the official said.

The cauldron will be placed in the 1,000 pillared mandapam where poojas will be performed for it after which it will be kept in a secluded area in the same venue.