Maha Deepam lit on the mountain peak in Tiruvannamalai

The sacred Maha Deepam was lit at 6 PM (on Friday, 23rd November) at the mountain peak as the climax part of the grand Karthigai Deepam festival in progress at the Tiruvannamalai Lord Arunachaleswarar temple.

Lakhs of devotees participated on this grand occasion and prayed the Maha Deepam.

A large number of devotees have visited from the other places to have a Darshan of the Maha Deepam and pray. Thus, all the streets of Tiruvannamalai appeared to have been flooded with the teeming devotees!

During the evening, the adorned deities of the ‘Panchamurthys’ were carried on palanquins and placed in the Mandapam. At 5.59 PM, the deity of Ardhanareeswarar was taken out. Subsequently, ‘Aganda Deepam’ was lit in the Tiruvannamalai temple complex.

At the same time, ‘Maha Deepam’ was lighted on top of the mountain on the ‘copra’ (oil pot) kept ready filled with ghee.

Even as the Maha Deepam was lit, the swarm of devotees collected both inside and outside the temple complex rendered the sky with the devoted chanting of ‘ Annamalaikku Arohara’with the ecstasy of devotion.