Lakhs of devotees thronged the temple city of Madurai to witness the annual celestial wedding of Meenakshi (Thirukalyanam). The divine marriage ceremony of Meenakshi and her consort Sundareswarar, which holds profound significance in Hindu epics, reflects the rich cultural heritage and spiritual ethos of Madurai. This celestial wedding ceremony was conducted on May 8, between 8.35 am and 8.59 am, with the divine knot tied exactly at 8.42 am – an auspicious time of the day.
The 10th-day event of the celestial marriage, part of the ten-day Chithirai festival, is celebrated with grandeur and devotion, drawing thousands of devotees from across the region and beyond, eager to witness the divine union.
The ceiling of the sacred wedding hall is covered with teak planks adorned with exquisite artwork. The 64 miracles of Lord Sivaperuman (Thiruvilaiyadal) have also been painted on the dome of the mandapam. Earlier, the celestial wedding of the Lord and Goddess used to be solemnised in this mandapam. Now, the wedding takes place at the new wedding hall where North Aadi Street and West Aadi Street meet. After the wedding, the Lord and Goddess proceeded to the old wedding hall to bless the devotees.
The Chithirai Festival, a significant cultural and religious event in Madurai, has been celebrated for centuries. This year, the festivities began with various rituals, including the Digvijayam procession held on 7 May, where children enacted the legendary battles fought by Goddess Meenakshi. The procession—a colourful display of devotion—took place after the Pattabhishekam, or coronation ceremony of the Goddess, and just before the Thirukalyanam. Pattabhishekam marks the grand coronation of Goddess Meenakshi as the sovereign queen of Madurai, signifying her divine rule over the city.
The Chithirai Festival at Madurai’s Meenakshi Temple begins with the ceremonial flag hoisting (Kodi Yetram), where the temple’s chief priest hoists the sacred flag, officially marking the commencement of this month-long celebration.
The marriage event began with prayers to Viboothi Vinayakar. Following the ceremony, the newlyweds were taken out in a grand procession through the streets—Goddess Meenakshi on the Yaanai Vahanam (elephant mount) and Lord Sundareswarar in the Pushpa Pallakku (flower palanquin)—captivating thousands of devotees with a visual spectacle of devotion and tradition. After the divine wedding, the festivities continued with Ther Thiruvizha—the grand chariot festival. The divine couple ride on a magnificently decorated chariot through the streets of Madurai. Devotees gather in large numbers to pull the chariot with devotion, seeking blessings from the newlywed deities.
#WATCH | Madurai, Tamil Nadu | The chariots of dieties—Swami (Lord Sundareswarar) and Amman (Goddess Meenakshi), reach Melamasi street amid huge numbers of devotees gathered for the Meenakshi Amman Temple Chithirai Festival. pic.twitter.com/fiZttzFeCd
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2025
As part of the festival, following the celestial wedding, the largest community feast of the year was organised at Sethupathi Government High School. This annual feast was arranged by the Palamudhi Cholai Thiruvavanantha Bhakatar Sabhai. The community feast is expected to serve a full wedding meal, including several courses, sweets and papad, on green banana leaves to over 1.25 lakh devotees who thronged Madurai to take part in the festival.
A day before the wedding, volunteers assembled at the school premises to procure provisions, rice and vegetables in preparation for cooking on the wedding day. They began cutting vegetables and sorted out provisions to make them ready for the 500 cooks. One of the organisers, K. Karthik, told the media: “We brought in 6,000 tonnes of vegetables and nearly 500 cooks. We are following a tradition that began 30 years ago as a modest feast for 4,000 devotees within the Meenakshi Amman temple premises. Now it has been shifted to the school premises since 2012, following overwhelming response and demand. This is the people’s feast and is funded entirely through public donations. So, everyone here deems it their own and feels it is part of a large family function.”
It is not just a culinary affair but a vital expression of community spirit and devotion during the Chithirai festival. Madurai Corporation, for its part, is supplying water for cooking, drinking and other purposes, besides providing police security to regulate the crowd. Volunteers, NGOs, school and college students served food to the devotees. This included both breakfast and a sumptuous lunch, with serving continuing until evening for those arriving after the marriage concluded at the temple.
