Govinda chants rent the air as Lord enters the Vaigai

CHENNAI: Amidst spiritual fervour and chanting of ‘Govinda Govinda’ lakhs of devotees witnessed the holy ritual of Lord Kallazhagar’s entry into the Vaigai river at Alwarpuram in Madurai, early on Friday.

This is the pinnacle event of the ongoing annual Chithirai festival for which lakhs of people congregated on the banks of the Vaigai river to witness the event.

The temple city wore a festive look as devotees from across the district and nearby places flocked to Madurai all through Thursday night to witness the grand spectacle.

Undeterred by the cloudy weather and drizzle, devotees started congregating on the river banks as early as 3 a.m. to catch a glimpse of the celestial event.

Many people witnessed the spectacle from atop tall commercial buildings and houses on the riverbanks, and from the Albert Victor bridge with umbrellas in hand. A few hundreds entered the river as well.

Lord Veera Ragava Perumal, mounted on a silver horse, arrived at the venue at 4.10 a.m. as is the custom.

The idol of Lord Kallazhagar, of Sri Sundararaja Perumal temple at Azhagarkoil, arrived near the venue of the event at 5.35 a.m. from the Sri Prasanna Venkatachalapathy Temple in Tallakulam, and was given an electrifying welcome.

The Lord, mounted on a golden stallion and clad in resplendent green silk, entered the river at 5.52 a.m. as devotees sprinkled flowers and chants of ‘Govinda Govinda’ rented the air. The green robe signifies prosperity and a good agricultural yield for the upcoming year.

The Lord was taken in a procession twice around the makeshift mandagapadi erected by the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.

Commercial Taxes Minister P. Moorthy, Madurai District Collector S. Aneesh Sekhar, MLAs G. Thalapathi, A. Venkatesan and M. Boominathan, Madurai Corporation Commissioner Simranjeet Singh Kahlon, Inspector General of Police (South Zone), Asra Garg, Commissioner of Police K. S. Narenthiran Nayar and others were present on the occasion. The celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar, and Lord Kallazhagar’s entry into river Vaigai, which were Saivite and Vaishnavite festivals respectively, were merged into one, to boost harmony among the masses during the reign of King Thirumalai Naicker.