Madurai  March 20, 2014: Temple priests pouring holy water on the ‘kalasams’ on the East Gopuram of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai on Wednesday.

The Sri Thirumarainathar Temple, which is more than 1,600 years old, is one of the sub-temples of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple.

Thousands of devotees witnessed the kumbabishekam of Sri Thirumarainathar Temple in Tiruvathavur, performed after a gap of 14 years, on Wednesday.

The temple was renovated ahead of the kumbabishekam at a cost of about Rs.1 crore, said P. Jayaraman, Joint Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department and Executive Officer of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple here.

The Sri Thirumarainathar Temple, which is more than 1,600 years old, is one of the sub-temples of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple.

About 120 sivachariyars performed special pujas at the grand yagasala, specially constructed at a cost of Rs.25 lakh for the kumbabishekam, from Sunday evening to Wednesday morning.

“The special pujas at the yagasala concluded at 10.15 a.m. on Wednesday. Following this, pujas were performed on the ‘vimanas’ of the deities – Lord Thirumarainathar, Goddess Vedanayaki Amman and Manickavasagar,” Mr.Jayaraman said. Abishekams to the deities and deeparadhana followed the pujas.

The temple is located at the birthplace of Manickavasagar, who wrote Thiruvasagam, a book of Shaiva hymns. The temple was adorned with floral decorations for the occasion and after the kumbabishekam, “annadanam” was provided to the devotees, Mr.Jayaraman added.

On Wednesday, kumbabishekam of the East Tower of Sri Meenakshi Sundarareswarar Temple was also performed.

The East Tower had suffered a minor damage when lightning struck it in December 2013. This warranted the temple administration to perform the kumbabishekam of the East Tower alone, which was witnessed by a large number of devotees.

Special pujas performed at the yagasala for the occasion concluded at 7.15 a.m. “Nine sivachariyars performed the pujas to the nine ‘kalasams’ of the tower, with three gold pots and six silver pots of water,” said Mr.Jayaraman.

The tower was renovated at a cost of Rs.8 lakh by the temple administration.