Rituals: Over one lakh flock to Rameswaram

Rameswaram: Over one lakh devotees and pilgrims from the state and different parts of the country converged at the pilgrim-island of Rameswaram on Friday on the occasion of ‘Thai Amavasai’, considered the most auspicious new moon day in the Tamil month of ‘Thai’ every year, to fulfill their obligations to their forefathers.

Right from the early hours, pilgrims took a dip at the famous ‘Agnitheertham’ seashore here and offered oblations and ‘Tharpanam’ to their forefathers and dear and near ones who are no more, in furtherance of their long-held religious belief that such offerings would ensure the souls of the dead would finally abide in peace.

Pilgrims also organised special ‘poojas’ near the seashore, with several of them donating clothes, even cows as part of discharging their obligations towards their dead kin. ‘Annadaanams (free food)’ for the people were also organised on the occasion.

Pilgrims and devotees later offered customary worship at the Sri Ramanathaswamy temple here. As the crowd was heavy, temple authorities regulated the movement of pilgrims, who also wished to bathe with the waters from the 22 ‘sacred wells’ inside the complex, before worshiping at the ancient Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi shrines.

To avoid inconvenience to pilgrims, four of the ‘sacred wells’ were kept out of bounds for them today and this caused some disappointment among the devotees.

Police force was deployed in sufficient strength with nearly 1000 men policing the island today, drawn from Ramanathapuram district and other nearby districts in south Tamil Nadu.

By and large, pilgrims had a hassle-free ‘darshan’ on this auspicious occasion, according to Ms Kala, a pilgrim who had come to Rameswaram all the way from Malaysia.