TRICHY: Braving the scorching sun, thousands of devotees thronged the Vayalur Murugan temple in the city on the occasion of Panguni Uthiram festival on Friday.
Panguni Uthiram is observed on the day when the moon transits on the nakshatram (star) of Uthiram in the month of Panguni in Tamil calendar.
At the Vayalur temple, special pujas and abhisekam started around 4 am.
A lot of devotees also carried ‘paal kaavadi’, ‘pushpa kaavadi’ and ‘paneer kaavadi’ marking the fulfilment of a vow to god Murugan. Devotees also carried out alagu kuthal (the traditional ritual of piercing their cheek or tongue with iron ‘vel’) as means of offering their worship to the god.
Devotees from other parts of the district also visited the temple on the day of Panguni Uthiram.
Several people organised annadhanams (distributing food and drinks) for the devotees at the temple and keeping in mind the soaring temperature buttermilk and water packets were offered by some. Sundaram, who has been organising annadhanam at the Vayalur temple over the past three decades, said that the devotees were offered food items that suited for the summer. Around 10pm, Murugan’s idol was taken around the streets in a silver car.
Apart from the Vayalur Murugan Temple, special darshans and pujas were arranged at other Murugan temples across the city. Annadhanams, which mainly included Pongal and Puliyodarai – were organised at most of the temples by individuals.