MADURAI, INDIA, May 3, 2012 (The HIndu): The celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Sundareswarar was held at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in the city on Wednesday. Witnessed by thousands of devotees and amidst chanting of hymns, the ‘tirukkalyanam’ (celestial wedding) was performed for the Deities.
The Deities of the Tirupparankundram Temple — Lord Subramaniaswamy and Lord Pavalakkanivai Perumal — were brought to the venue to witness the event. Murtis of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar and Piriyavidai occupied the centre stage at the Tiruppugazh mandapam.
Devotees began making a beeline for the venue several hours before the wedding. All the Deities were brought to the decorated dais, which was located at the junction of North and West Adi Streets inside the temple. After the initial rituals, representatives of the Deities, Ramesh Bhattar for Goddess Meenakshi and Senthil Bhattar for Lord Sundareswarar, exchanged garlands.
The wedding took place at 9.40 a.m. A salient feature of the celestial wedding was the installation of a 100-tonne air-conditioner, which drew immense praise from devotees as it provided a welcome respite from the scorching summer heat. The Madurai station of All India Radio relayed a live commentary of the celestial wedding. The event was also telecast live by local cable television channels besides a prominent private channel.
A number of foreign tourists were also brought to the venue by the Tourism Department. The event was watched online by over 2,500 devotees from the U.S., U.K, U.A.E, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and Finland.
See more at the temple’s official website: www.maduraimeenakshi.org