Chennai: Here is a treat for all devotees of Lord Athi Varadar: the deity can now be worshipped in standing pose (ninra thirukolam) at Kanchipuram.
The Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple administrators changed the pose of the idol from resting pose (sayana thirukolam) to standing pose (ninra thirukolam) after stopping public darshan from last evening.
This morning, the temple doors opened at 5.30 am and the rush of devotees had their fill of the Lord in standing pose.
The beautiful deity was decked up in white silk that had an elaborate ink blue zari border and as usual He was adorned with flowers. The abhaya hastham (hand that blesses) had a gold kavacham with the letters maa su saha (meaning take refuge in me in Sanskrit), just like the main deity in the temple has.
Lord Athi Varadar can be worshipped in this standing pose for the rest of the vaibhavam, which ends in 17 days.
For the last 31 days, the Lord gave darshan in sayana thirukolam and drew about 34 lakh devotees and pilgrims.
As the district administration expects the crowd to swell in the coming days, they are putting up additional, temporary shelters and more police force is to be deployed.
Photos / video: D Sundar
