Places of worship, among others, are closed in the state on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays due to COVID restrictions and a closure was also observed on January 23 to combat the spread of the virus.
On Sunday, a total of 91 weddings were performed on the roads adjoining the temple as it was an auspicious “Muhurtha naal”. A total of 110 registrations were made to hold temple marriages in this small town, located about 12 km from the district headquarters. It is a much sought after temple for performing marriages, mostly of people in and around Cuddalore as well as other parts of the state.
Marriages took place between 4:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Sundays, in accordance with the “muhurtham” (auspicious hour), with morning gatherings known as “Brahma Muhurtham”.
Traditionally, holding weddings at this shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu is considered auspicious by people.
Authorities said the temple, one of 108 “Divya Desams” dedicated to Lord Vishnu, has a hall inside its premises where 40 marriages can be performed at a time and there are no there is therefore no ban on celebrating marriages on days when the sanctuary is open.
According to the Cuddalore District Administration official website, “Built in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints of the 6th-9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam(s) dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshiped as Devanathaswamy and his consort Lakshmi as Hemabhujavalli.
On January 23, Tamil Nadu reported 30,580 new COVID cases.
Night curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. continues to be implemented in Tamil Nadu. On Sunday, January 9, a full day shutdown was imposed in the state, the first in 2022 and also during the third wave of the COVID pandemic.
