The Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai marks the onset of the ten-day Thirukarthigai Deepam festival with a grand lion vahana procession of Goddess Pidari Amman, the temple's guardian deity, drawing many devotees.
Pidari Amman Procession Kicks Off Thirukarthigai Deepam Celebrations
Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 14 (ANI): As part of the annual Thirukarthigai Deepam festival celebrations, Goddess Pidari Amman, the guardian deity of the Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai, was taken out in a grand procession on a lion vahana on Friday. The annual Thirukarthigai Deepam festival at the Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple, one of the Pancha Bhootha Sthalams representing the element of Fire (Agni), will commence on the 15th of this month with the ceremonial hoisting of the temple flag. The ten-day festival is expected to be celebrated with great religious devotion and grandeur. The temple is also considered a sacred destination, believed to grant liberation merely by thinking of it.
As part of the Deepam festival celebrations, the annual festival of Goddess Pidari Amman, the guardian deity of the temple, was celebrated with devotion and grandeur. Her shrine is located in the third prakaram, or inner circumambulatory corridor of the temple. Earlier, the processional deity of Pidari Amman was given a special abhishekam and rituals. The goddess was decorated with colourful flowers and carried on the shoulders of temple staff to the sanctum of the presiding deity in the third prakaram, where special deeparadhana was performed. Later, the goddess was brought in a procession to the 16-pillared mandapam near the temple’s Rajagopuram. She was ceremoniously seated on a lion vahana, where devotees gathered to seek her blessings and have her darshan. Following this, Goddess Pidari Amman, seated on the lion vahana, proceeded along the Mada Streets surrounding the temple. A large number of devotees gathered along the procession route to offer prayers and seek the blessings of the goddess. (ANI)
