The partially burnt sthala viruksham of Sri Vadaranyeswarar Temple
CHENNAI: A day after part of the dry portion of the ‘sthala vruksham’ (banyan tree) of Sri Vadaranyeswarar temple in Tiruvalangadu in Tiruvallur district was burnt, officials are taking steps to revive the tree since other portions of the tree are still having a few branches intact. Collector A Sundaravalli and HR&CE officials visited temple and inspected the tree.
This is the second mishap in a major temple under the HR&CE Department within a week. On Friday last, a fire broke out in the Veeravasantharayar Mandapam of Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai.
Temple sources said the present ‘sthala vruksham’ was planted after performing poojas during the Kumbabhishekam of the temple conducted in the early 1950s. Devotees said childless couples offering prayers tied wooden cradles covered with clothes on the tree, which caught fire when someone burnt camphor. Since the crowd was less around 6.30 pm on Wednesday, the fire was noticed after a while. In minutes, the dry portion of the tree got burnt. ens
.jpg)
