The number of visitors is a mere 20,000 this year, not the 25 lakh that flocked the temple town every year. Yet the Maha Deepam, lit on Friday, brought life back to Tiruvannamalai, a year and a half after COVID-19 broke out.
Thousands of devotees chanted ‘Arunchaleshwara’ during the day-long puja that culminated in the lighting of the Maha Deepam at 6 p.m. atop the Annamalai Hills. It was the last day of the 10-day Karthigai Deepam festival of the Sri Arunachaleswarar temple. The day began with puja, followed by the lighting of ‘Bharani Deepam’ at the temple at 4 a.m.
With the Madras High Court having directed the State Government to allow 20,000 devotees, the flow of visitors had been steady since the morning. Vehicles were stopped two km away from the temple. Apart from nine temporary bus terminus, 10 police booths and 13 watch towers were opened. “Around 5,000 policemen were deployed,” Superintendent of Police A. Pavan Kumar Reddy told The Hindu.
According to officials of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, the Maha Deepam is lit atop the 2,668-foot Annamalai hill. The cauldron is taken to the hill top through a seven-km route a day before the Maha Deepam. The cauldron is 10 feet high and five feet wide, carried on poles by 65 persons, mostly fishermen. It is filled with 750 kg of pure ghee. A wick measuring more than 300 metres and made with a special cotton cloth is inserted in the cauldron. The Deepam is lit with fire from 10 kg of camphor. It is visible in a radius of 35 km. In the next 10 days, temple officials will ensure that the Maha Deepam is lit. “Every morning, the team removes the ash from the flame pit and lights the Deepam,” said M. Thyagarajan, stores manager of the temple.
