Lord Kallazhagar enters the Vaigai amid sea of humanity

Lord Kallazhagar entered the Vaigai in the early hours of Friday, the highlight of the annual Chithirai festival in Madurai. Lord Kallazhagar, draped in green silk attire and mounted on a golden horse, was carried from the Prasanna Venkatachalapathy Temple at Tallakulam to  Alwarpuram, the venue of the event, around 5.50 a.m. He was received there by Lord Veera Raghava Perumal, mounted on a silver horse. 

The deity was adorned with the garland brought from the Andal Temple at Srivilliputtur before he left for the river. Lord Kallazhagar entered the Vaigai amid the chanting of ‘Govinda, Govinda’ by devotees. The Lord was taken out in a procession around the ‘mandagapadi’ erected at the venue. As Lord Kallazhagar made his entry into the river, women devotees held pots with jaggery and camphor to offer prayers. Children sat on the shoulders of their parents to catch a glimpse of the deity.