Devotees witness ‘Pattabhishekam’ of Goddess Meenakshi 

Coronation ceremony of Goddess Meenakshi at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple during annual Chithirai festival in Madurai.

The ‘Pattabhishekam’ or coronation ceremony of Goddess Meenakshi was performed at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple here on the eighth day of the annual Chithirai festival on Friday.

The ceremony began with customary rituals, followed by ‘abhishekam’ and ‘deeparadhana’ to the diamond-studded crown, called ‘Rayar’ crown. It is believed that the crown that adorned the Goddess was donated by Appaji Rayar, a Minister in the court of King Krishnadevaraya, and passed on to the presiding deity of the temple during King Thirumalai Nayak rule.

The chairperson of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple Board of Trustees Rukmini Palanivel Rajan received the ‘parivattam’, the respect originally accorded to King Thirumalai Nayak, from the temple Bhattars. After receiving the golden sceptre from the temple priest, she took it around the ‘praharam’ of the Swami Sannithi and then placed it next to Goddess Meenakshi.

This ceremony marks the transfer of power to rule Madurai from Lord Sundareswarar to Goddess Meenakshi. Her rule will last from the Tamil month of Chithirai to Avani. Thousands of devotees witnessed the ceremony. The deities were taken out on a silver palanquin along the Masi streets.