Alagar Temple Madurai

This morning I visited this famous temple in Madurai, which is at the foothills of the Alagar Hills.

The last time I was in Madurai, I passed by this temple on the way to Palamuthir Solai but didn’t stop here.

This time a close friend suggested that I visit this temple and asked me to attend their early morning dharshan, the Vishvaroopa dharshan. And he was kind enough to make all the arrangements for me as well, for which I am grateful. India is a country where you do need connections to help with things like temple visits etc.

I was told to be there by 530am. I left my hotel at 430am and I was at the temple by 5 am. The dharshan only starts at 6am and so I had to be outside the shrine waiting for the priests to arrive and start their preparations. My minder was nice and found me a chair to sit whilst waiting and a hot lemon tea.

In the wedding hall nearby, a wedding was taking place at 515am. I wonder what time the couple and all their families had to be here to have the ceremony start at that time. And getting here is not easy. I think there are weddings here every 15 minutes. The next one started at 530am.

The priests started arriving from about 545am. It started getting brighter outside and I started hearing Tamil songs from the shops outside which had started to open about then.

At about 545am, the priests started singing the suprabathams. I was asked to stand right in front of the shrine which was then still covered with a curtain. Soon a white cow was brought to stand right in front of the shrine and thereafter came an elephant.

At 6am sharp they opened the curtain and unveiled the deity with lots of chanting and bells. After receiving the blessings from the priests I left.

I was told the deity is only unveiled for 10 minutes after which they will close the curtain till the next dharshan at 8 am.

Grateful for the blessings so early in the morning. We were done at the temple by 615m.