From 1 July, Lord Athi Varadar was taken out of temple tank and kept for drashan at Varadarajaswamy temple in Kanchipuram. 31 days of Sayana Thirukolam and 17 days of Ninra Thirukolam. In the 47 days nearly one crore devotees offered prayers. Tomorrow is the last day of darshan. Devotees have made a beeline in Kanchi and there are queue upto four kilometers. According to pundits, Athi Varadar was carved out of Athi tree by Vishwakarma in Kritha Yuga.
It was the presiding deity in the temple until 16th century. When Muslims invaded south, Athi Varadar was reportedly put inside the temple tank to preserve it from invaders. After several years, efforts were made to trace Athi Varadar began. When all efforts failed, the priests made a stone image of Athi Varadhar and thereafter resumed the regular pooja. However when the temple tank was emptied for another reason after a gap of 40 years, they found Athi Varadar inside.
They decided that this idol has to be taken out every 40 years for pooja for 48 days and again be immersed in the temple tank for another 40 years. The likes of President Ramnath Kovind, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy CM EPS, Rajinikanth, former PM Deve Gowda, Andhra CM YSR, Telangana CM Chandrasekarar Rao, actresses Trisha, Nayanthara among others offered prayers. The darshan ends tomorrow and Athi Varadar will be kept in temple pond on Saturday.
