Theppam festival begins with flag hoisting in Thiruparankundram
Tamil Nadu: The Theppam Festival began on Monday with the flag hoisting ceremony at the Thiruparankundram Subramanya Swamy Temple.
The Thiruparankundram Subramanya Swamy Temple, the first of the six abodes of Lord Murugan, celebrates the 10-day Theppath Festival every year in the month of Thai. This year’s festival began with the flag hoisting ceremony at 7 a.m. on Monday. During the event, held at the temple’s Kambathadi Mandapam, Subramanya Swamy, dressed in special attire, accompanied the deity Deivanai from the Utsava Sannati to the Kambathadi Mandapam. There, a gold-plated pole was consecrated and decorated with tarpai grass, mango leaves, and flowers, before the flag was hoisted at 7 a.m. On this occasion, Subramanya Swamy, accompanied by Deivanai, blesses devotees every morning in a golden chariot and at night in various vehicles, including a golden peacock, an Anna chariot, and a green horse chariot.
The main event of the festival is the Theppam Mutt Dutthalavalam on Thaikarthigai Day, the 27th, followed by a chariot procession from the Kalmandapam Complex through the main streets of the city on the 16th. The climax of the festival is the Theppam festival at Theppakulam on GST Road on the 28th. That morning, Lord Subramanian, accompanied by Goddess Devanai, mounts a Theppam float and circumambulates the Theppam. Later that night, a procession will take place in the Theppakulam Central Hall, followed by a procession of Lord Subramanian Swamy and Goddess Devanai on a float in Theppakulam. Temple Trustee Committee Chairman P. Satyapriya Balaji, Trustees V. Shanmugasundaram, Manichelvam, Bommathevan, Ramaiah, and temple staff are organizing the festival.
