MADURAI, INDIA, May 9, 2025 (The HIndu): Thousands of devotees descended on the four Masi streets in Madurai to witness the Therottam (grand car festival) of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple on the penultimate day of the annual Chithirai festival on Friday. Ahead of the temple car procession, the Deities — Goddess Meenakshi, Lord Sundareswarar and Goddess Piriyavidai — were brought to the Thermutti on East Masi Street, where the vibrantly decorated temple cars were stationed. Following special pujas to the Deities by the temple priests, the car procession began at 6.35 a.m. The bigger temple car carried Lord Sundareswarar and Goddess Piriyavidai and the smaller car carried Goddess Meenakshi. The Deities were dressed in silk attires and decked up in gold.

Thousands of volunteers pulled the 984-foot-long vadams (ropes) amid chanting by devotees. While the Masi streets were chock-a-block with people, the terraces were no less crowded. People were perched on terraces and rooftops of houses and commercial establishments in order to catch a glimpse of the colorful procession. Children sitting on the shoulders of their parents to get a better view of the car procession was a common sight. Long cloth canopies (thervalais) filled with colorful motifs and festoons swaying in the air from the dark-brown intricately worked body of the temple cars was a sight to behold. According to the inscriptions on the temple walls, the first car festival was held in Madurai around 700 years ago during the reign of King Veerapandian. The temple cars used presently were made by King Thirumalai Nayak around 380 years ago.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/sea-of-devotees-pulls-meenakshi-temple-cars-along-masi-streets/article69558021.ece
Marvelous video: https://youtu.be/g-MUmHnVmEo?si=a7B37DHt5dTbL_rO

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