Vasantha Utsavam begins at Madurai's Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple

MADURAI: The annual 'Vasantha Utsavam' festival began at Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple on Friday. The 10-day festival would be usually held in the Tamil month of Vaikasi at the Vasantha Mandapam (Puthu Mandapam) of the temple.

After several decades, the temple management has made arrangements for filling water in the mandapam's 'Agazhi' to reduce humidity on the premises. For years, more than hundreds of shops and stalls have come up in the area covering the 'Agazhi'. This year, the temple authorities have removed all the shops.  

"As per the tradition, during the first nine days of the festival, the deities of Sundareswarar, Meenakshi, Ganesa, etc, would be brought to the mandapam at 6 pm for deeparadhana. On the tenth day, it would be brought in the morning for people to dharshan," said Manivannan, assistant professor at Melur Government Arts and Sciences College and author of a book on Meenakshi Amman temple.

"Various pujas and rituals would be performed every day. However, for several years, the festival was celebrated without Agazhi. Pudhu Mandapam structure was constructed by Viswanatha Nayakar in 1635 AD. It has 125 pillars in four rows and has several rare and unique sculptures," he added.

Special decorations were made at the mandapam.