The Navaratri festival at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple will be held from October 11 to 20, with special worship arrangements at the sanctum during the 10-day festival. The temple administration has announced that the sanctum will be screened from 6 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. for abhishekam, decoration and special pujas, during which devotees will not be allowed to perform coconut-breaking or archana for the deity at the sanctum.
The festival will be followed by Santhabhishekam on October 25. During the Navaratri festival, bookings for adorning Meenakshi Amman with a diamond crown or gold armour, conducting Ubhaya Thirukalyanam and taking the golden chariot procession will not be permitted, according to the temple administration.
During the evening worship period, the sanctum will be screened while abhishekam and decoration are carried out. Special rituals including Kalpa Puja and Sahasranama Puja will also continue until 8.30 p.m. As a result, coconut-breaking and archana for the deity at the sanctum will not be conducted during these hours. Devotees may instead perform coconut-breaking and archana for the decorated form of Meenakshi Amman who will be seated at the Kolu Mandapam.
Meenakshi Amman will appear in different forms at the Kolu Mandapam during the festival. The announced schedule includes Rajarajeshwari decoration on October 11, Pattabhisheka Thirukolam on October 12, Ardhanareeswarar decoration on October 13, Kolattam on October 14, Pattabhisheka Thirukolam on October 15, Thapasu Thirukolam on October 16, Oonjal on October 17, Muthangi Seva on October 18, Mahishasuramardhini on October 19 and Siva Puja on October 20.
A series of spiritual and cultural programmes will also be conducted at the Thirukalyana Mandapam from October 11 to 20. The programmes will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 4.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. They will include spiritual discourses, Bharatanatyam, devotional music and veena concerts.
The temple administration has also invited devotees and others wishing to provide Kolu dolls as offerings to submit dolls depicting the 64 divine plays of Lord Siva and other traditional figures at the internal office of the temple. The arrangements cover both the daily Kolu presentations and the cultural programmes planned during the festival.
Worship and Event Arrangements
Meenakshi Amman Temple, Kolu Mandapam, Thirukalyana Mandapam, temple administration
Evening sanctum rituals from 6 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., restrictions on coconut-breaking and archana at the sanctum during the ritual period, worship arrangements at the Kolu Mandapam
Abhishekam, decoration, Kalpa Puja, Sahasranama Puja, daily Navaratri decorations
October 11-20 Navaratri festival, October 25 Santhabhishekam, cultural programmes from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.
The temple administration has stated that devotees may perform coconut-breaking and archana for the decorated Meenakshi Amman at the Kolu Mandapam during the Navaratri festival.
