Devotees throng Devarajaswami temple for 'once in four decades' festival

Nearly one lakh devotees queued up at Sri Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram on Wednesday to take a look at the idol of Athi Varadar.

The idol, made from rig tree wood, is taken out for public view once in 40 years from the Ananthasaras- a vault under the temple tank for 48 days that began on Monday.

Devotees start trooping in to the temple even before dawn, resulting in serpentine queues of worshippers, waiting for hours to catch a glimpse of Athi Varadar.

The temple management, this year, has started online ticket booking to ease the process for the devotees.

They have also specified dedicated timing for the darshan; from 6 am to 2 pm, and between 3 pm.

The Kancheepuram district administration has also made elaborate arrangements for the large number of devotees.