Vedupari celebrated at Srirangam temple

Devotees in large numbers witnessed the Thirumangaimannan Vedupari which was celebrated on Friday evening as part of the ongoing 22-day Vaikunta Ekadasi festival at the Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy temple

Devotees in large numbers witnessed the Thirumangaimannan Vedupari which was celebrated on Friday evening as part of the ongoing 22-day Vaikunta Ekadasi festival at the Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy temple.

Vedupari is held on the eighth day of the Raa Pathu of the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival. The ritual is held to mark the divine blessings of the Lord to ‘Thirumangaimannan’ who comes and robs the valuables of Lord Narayana and His Consort who were disguised as a newly wed couple decked with jewellery.

The legend has it that the Lord revealed himself and initiated Thirumangaimannan into the ‘Ashtakshara Mantra’ and thus he became “Thirumangai Azhwar”. This episode is enacted every year as part of the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival at the Srirangam temple.

The processional deity Sri Namperumal, seated on a ‘Kuthirai Vaganam’, was brought from the Sandhana mandapam in the evening to the ‘manalveli’ and thereafter taken in a fast-paced procession (Vaiyali Vagaira Kandarulal). The deity was thereafter taken to the Thirumani Asthana Mandapam.