Thousands participate in annual car festival of Thanjavur’s Big Temple
The Hindu
Annual car festival at Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, featuring a grand procession and religious ceremonies.
The annual car festival of Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur, popularly known as the Big Temple, was held on Saturday, April 20, 2024, with religious fervour and gaiety.
The decorated idol of Sri Thyagarajaswamy was brought in a procession from the temple complex to the car deck on West Raja Veedhi at dawn, and placed on the temple car at 7 a.m. The wooden car was then pulled out of its deck at around 7.15 a.m. and rolled along the four Raja Veedhis, before it was brought back to the deck at noon by the devotees.
Chants of ‘Aaroora, thyagesa’ filled the air as the iron wheels of the temple car rolled and the Raja Veedhis reverberated with the ‘Siva vathyam’ of drums, conch shell and other traditional musical instruments. Sri Thyagarajaswamy was brought back to the temple in the evening.
Tense moments prevailed for a brief time during the procession as the decorated top portion of the wooden car became entangled with the overhead power supply cable line near Sri Konganeswarar temple on West Raja Veedhi. The car procession resumed after Tangedco personnel cleared the entangled cable.
No untoward incidents were reported as the power supply had been suspended along the four Raja Veedhi’s from Saturday morning until the culmination of car festival as a precautionary measure, sources said.
The 18-day festival commenced with the hosting of the holy flag on April 6, and will culminate on the evening of April 23 with the lowering of the flag.
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