Traditional rituals, chants, devotion mark renowned Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple consecration

The Maha Kumbabhishekam (consecration ceremony) of the renowned Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple here was performed on Thursday amidst the chant of Vedic mantras and a display of devotion by several thousands of devotees who thronged to witness the grand event.
Priests performed the sacred rituals and poured sanctified water (Abhishekam) on the temple Vimanams of Meenakshi Amman shrine and and also on the Vimanams of Sundareshwarar Swamy shrine, as the devotees stood around the massive temple towers to watch the ceremony.
This was followed by maha deeparadhana (special lamp ritual).
Thereafter, the priests sprinkled the holy water on the devotees.
The atmosphere was filled with chanting and spiritual fervour. According to temple source, the ceremony was held between 7.45 and 8.10 am. The Yagasala rituals commenced on September 11 and were conducted till September 16.
The temple was illuminated last night ahead of the Kumbabhishekam which was performed after a gap of 17 years. Several hundreds of devotees arrived on Wednesday night and took positions around the temple to witness the ceremony when it commenced in the morning.
Earlier, following the pre-dawn rituals, the priests from various prominent temples carried the sanctified water-filled kalasams in a solemn procession from the Yagasala to the temple towers for the main ceremony. The temple administration had installed large LED screens at 53 locations in Madurai to enable the devotees to watch the Kumbabhishekam.
The devotees were permitted inside the sanctum for darshan only after 10 am. But by then massive crowd swelled up across all the four Chithirai streets around the temple making it challenging for the police on duty and temple staff to regulate them for darshan.
The police put up barricades near the West Gopuram. Exit after darshan has been regulated through the South Gate. Later, speaking to reporters, state Energy Resources and Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar claimed proper arrangements were made to ensure darshan for the devotees.
“We set up a control room for the first time to manage the situation… everything went well,” he said.
Ahead of the grand ceremony, the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department carried out a massive Rs 32.29 crore renovation work involving 186 distinct restoration works.
All the 14 magnificent gateway towers have been entirely cleaned, structurally repaired, and completely repainted under the strict guidance of Archaeology Department
experts.