Thanjavur, July 16, 2013: Thousands of devotees witnessed the Mahakumbabhishekam at Lord Vasishteswarar temple in Thittai near here on Monday. Amidst religious fervour, at the end of the fourth kaala pujai, the ‘Gadam’ containing the holy waters was taken and by about 9-30 a.m., coinciding with ‘Simha’ Lagnam, offered to the ‘Rajagopuram’ of the temple, marking the Mahakumbabhishekam .

Similar rituals followed for the vimanams dedicated to the shrines of Lord Vasishteswarar, His Consort Sri Loganayaki (also known as Sri Sukantha Kundhalambikai) and Sri Dakshinamurthy, popularly known as Sri Rajaguru. The temple is popularly known as ‘Gurusthalam’ and Lord Dakshinamurthy, (normally found in a seated posture) is in a rare form of standing posture, possessing a book and arms in his hands to bless the devotees with wisdom and protect them from adversity. A group of 36 sivachariars and vedic pundits performed the pujai at the ‘yagasalai’. Special arrangements were made by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Board for regulating the queue in coordination with police personnel. The temple has been renovated at an expenditure of Rs.25 lakh, including Rs. 20 lakh sanctioned by the Finance Commission of the State government and Rs.5 lakh contributed by devotees as donor component. This apart, as part of celebrations, the ‘Chakra Theertham’ the sacred tank of the temple, has been renovated at an expenditure of Rs.18 to Rs.12 lakh contributed under the Namakku Namae programme and the balance Rs.6 lakh got from the temple funds. To regulate the queues, stainless steel barricade had been set up at an expenditure of Rs. 2 lakh, according to D. Govindaraj, executive officer of the temple. Suresh Kumar, District Revenue Officer, C. Kumaradurai, Joint Commissioner of HR and CE, and S. Gnanasekar, Assistant Commissioner, were present. The kumbabishekam was last performed in 1987.

Source: The Hindu, DT. July 16, 2013.