Chennai: Thousands of people gathered at beaches, river banks and water bodies across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday to perform the traditional ancestral ritual "pitru tharpanam" on "Aadi Ammavasai", the new moon day, to honour their departed.
Major holy sites such as Rameswaram and Kanyakumari, besides coastal areas of Chennai and the banks of the Cauvery and Thamirabarani rivers, saw huge crowds performing the rituals.
Astrologers clarified that a solar eclipse occurred late on Wednesday night Indian Standard Time (IST) and was not visible in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, posing no ritual restrictions for locals.
Tourism Department sources said that at the "Agni Theertham" beach in Rameswaram, thousands of pilgrims from various districts and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka arrived at dawn.
Devotees offered sesame and rice balls (pinda tharpanam) to their ancestors before taking a holy dip in the "Agni Theertham" sea and bathing in the 22 sacred "Theerthams" within the Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple.
More than 500 police personnel were deployed to manage the crowds, while coastal security police conducted intensive patrols offshore to prevent accidents.
At "Triveni Sangamam" in Kanyakumari, the confluence of the three seas, devotees, including those from Kerala, gathered as early as 4 am. Large crowds continued to visit the beach well past mid-morning, with police making arrangements to ensure smooth movement.
In Tirunelveli district, thousands assembled along the banks of the Thamirabarani river from dawn. Locations including the Kurukkuthurai Subramaniya Swamy Temple steps, Esakki Amman Temple steps and the holy ghats in front of the Papanasanathar Temple in Papanasam saw heavy footfall for the ancestral rituals.
To ensure orderly observances, police implemented one-way traffic systems, while local civic bodies and volunteers were also deployed to collect plastic bags from devotees and replace them with eco-friendly paper bags.
In Chennai, large crowds converged along Marina Beach as well as at the Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple tank from the early hours of the morning.
According to custom, Ammavasai (new moon) days falling in the Tamil months of Aadi, Thai and Purattasi are considered sacred for ancestral rituals. As per the Tamil calendar, Aadi is currently underway.
