TIRUCHENDUR: More than three lakh devotees from across Tamil Nadu and abroad witnessed the Soorasamharam, the highlight of the Kandha Sashti festival, at the seashore of the Arulmigu Subramanyaswamy Temple in Tiruchendur on Sunday.
The six-day festival began with the yagasala pooja on Nov. 10. Since then, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was opened to devotees at 3 am, every day for special poojas. On the final day, the temple opened at 1 am, and after early morning rituals, the decorated idol of Lord Jeyanthinathar was taken in procession to the Sashti Mandapam at 3.30 pm.
Devotees gathered in large numbers along the seashore, chanting “Vetrivel Veeravel” and “Kandhanukku Arohara” as the deity was brought to the seashore for the Samhara event.
The Soorasamharam commenced around 3.50 pm, depicting the slaying of demons Gajamugasooran, Singamugasooran and finally Soorapadman, symbolising the triumph of good over evil, following which the devotees completed their six-day long sashti viratham by taking holy dip in the sea.
Following the event, the idols of Lord Jeyanthinathar along with Valli and Deivanai were placed at the santhosha mandapam, from where the Lord along with the Goddesses proceeded to the temple after the abishegam. The Thirukalyanam (celestial wedding) of the deities will be performed on Monday.
Similar Soorasamharam rituals too were held at the ancient Kazhugasalamurthy temple in Kazhugumalai, the Kathiresanmalai temple near Kovilpatti and several Murugan temples in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts.
State HR&CE minister, Ramesh along with his cabinet colleagues, Prabhu, Srinath, Mathanraja and Keerthana witnessed the mega spiritual event at Tiruchendur on the day.
For the convenience of devotees, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operated 302 special buses from Tiruchendur to Madurai, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Nagercoil. Southern Railway also operated special services between Tiruchendur and Tirunelveli and a late night train from Tiruchendur to Thambaram.
Elaborate security arrangements were made with around 4,100 police personnel deployed under direct supervision of the South Zone IG, Vijayendra Bidari and Tirunelveli range DIG, R. Thirunavukkarasu, assisted by the police superintendents, R.Shiva Prasad of Thoothukudi, Viswesh Balasubramaniam Sashtri of Tirunelveli, R.STalin of Tenkasi and Anshul Nagar of Kanyakumari district besides D.Karthikeyan, commandant of the IX battalion of the Tamil Nadu special police (TSP), Manimutharu.
Soorasamhara fest held at Vellore Fort ground: The main event of the Kanda Sashti festival, Soorasamharam, was held at the Vellore Fort grounds with special abhishekam and decorations done to Shanmugar at the Jalakandeswarar temple and poojas performed. Several devotees participated in this and had darshan of the Swami.
In the evening, the Soorasamhara festival was held at the Vellore Fort grounds. During the ceremony of Lord Muruga killing Soora, devotees chanted the ‘Arohara’ and worshipped Lord Muruga.
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