Madurai

Only on that day, devotees would be able to see the Maragatha (emarald) Natarajar idol without a coat of sandal paste. Also, according to tradition, the idol should not be exposed to sun rays.

Because of the existing Agama rules, the Maragatha idol of Natarajar is shown to devotees only on the day of the ‘Arudra’ star. The event is therefore termed as ‘Arudra Darshan’. On that day, after the sandal paste is removed from the idol, 32 kinds of abhishegams using milk, honey, panchamirtham and so on would be performed.

Following that, ‘Sandhanathi Thailam’ would be poured on the idol and special prayers would be offered to the Lord. The temple would be opened for devotees till 11 pm. Following that, sandal paste would be applied on the idol before closing the temple at 3 am.

The Mangalanathar temple is also called as ‘Dakshin Shiva’ temple because of the life-sized Maragatha idol of Natarajar.

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