Devotees gather in thousands for historic consecration of Meenakshi temple in Madurai

​To manage the crowds, a filtering system based on pass colours — red, yellow, purple, and green — was in place, directing devotees to specific access areas closest to the temple’s inner sanctum.

Updated - September 17, 2026 11:36 am IST - MADURAI

Priests carry the holy water to the gopuram at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Madurai ahead of the consecration ceremony on September 17, 2026. | Photo Credit: G. Moorthy

The historic Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai witnessed a massive convergence of devotees on Thursday (September 17, 2026) morning for its grand consecration ceremony, amidst initial security hurdles that were rectified swiftly.

As the poojas for the consecration ceremony of the Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple began early in the morning, devotees holding permit passes flocked to the temple premises in large numbers.

​To manage the crowds, a filtering system based on pass colours — red, yellow, purple, and green — was in place, directing devotees to specific access areas closest to the temple’s inner sanctum.

​Devotees without passes were categorised as general attendees and were permitted entry only after the official ceremony concluded at 10 a.m.

#LIVE | As poojas for the consecration ceremony of the Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple are set to begin shortly, people holding permit passes arrived in large numbers at the temple premises.📸 Moorthy. Ghttps://t.co/kaWxlCDYFXpic.twitter.com/0YtkKv085s— The Hindu - Chennai (@THChennai) September 17, 2026

​As announced earlier, drinking water and toilet facilities were set up at different points across the area to assist the public and police personnel. Meanwhile, the special cordon designated for VIPs, judges, and officials had been active since 3 a.m.

Despite the security breaches observed at multiple entrances, which allowed crowds to push past the Masi streets and spill onto all four Chithirai streets, the police personnel successfully managed the heavy influx and largely controlled the movement of crowds.

Minister for Energy Resources and Law C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar carried out a surprise inspection of the control room and walked around the temple. He personally inspected the breach points, spoke to thousands of devotees waiting behind the barricades, and urged them to remain calm and patient until the initial crowd could safely exit after prayers.

Ahead of the main rituals, sanitation crews worked diligently to clear the garbage near the temple premises, while corporation officials swiftly addressed reported issues with leaking water tanks.

Despite the prior arrangements, sewage water overflow from manholes near the east entrance caused commotion in the area for a brief period. As bad odour emanated from the waste water, devotees had to move out of the area for respite. However, sanitation workers immediately cleared the sewage overflow and bleached the area with disinfectants.

Inside the temple complex, priests performed elaborate pujas and adorned garlands across all 12 gopurams.

The consecration schedule commenced as Sivachariyar priests carried holy water, sanctified in the yagasala within kalasams, to pour over the gold vimanas and rajagopurams. The main rituals unfolded between 7.40 a.m. and 8.10 a.m., highlighted by the specific kudamuzhukku for the Meenakshi Amman shrine at 7.55 a.m. and the Maha Kudamuzhukku for the Sundareswarar Swamy shrine at 8.10 a.m.

Following the ritual, devotees, corporation staff, and police personnel gathered near the temple premises to receive the holy water sprinkled from the gopurams.

Devotees who waited for two to three hours expressed frustration that the holy water was not sprinkled properly. Despite prior assurances and temple announcements stating that sprinklers and drones would distribute the holy water across the surrounding area, the absence of this facility left the crowd disappointed.

To cater to the massive gathering, preparation of food was under way at Sethupathi school, where breakfast and meals consisting of kesari, pongal, idli, sambar, and vadai were prepared to feed approximately 50,000 devotees from 7 a.m. through the afternoon.

Withdrawal of permission for PwDs

The Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently-abled and Caregivers (TARATDAC) expressed dissatisfaction over the last-minute cancellation of 30 passes initially allocated to persons with disabilities to climb on top of the temple to witness the consecration ceremony.

TARATDAC district secretary Balamurugan stated that had their request been rejected outright when the appeal was first made, “it would not have been this disappointing.”