Devotees gathered at Sri Sankara Mattham, a temple in Matunga, a Mumbai neighbourhood, on Monday evening to celebrate Annabhishekam festival, celebrated in the Aippasi month according to the Tamil calendar.
Annabhishegam festival is a ritual dedicated to Lord Shiva to thank him for prosperity of the farmland and increase in farm produce. With priests decorating the temple, member’s offer cooked rice to Lord Shiva in the evening.
Ganesha Sastrigal, chief priest of the temple, said the decoration takes nearly five hours. “We use 15 kilogram of cooked rice mixed with milk and butter to apply on the Shiva Linga and add fruits to make it colourful,” he said. “It is kept for four hours so that the devotees can offer prayer and then distributed as prasad. In the evening rudram is chanted by Vedic scholars.”
Celebrated during this month, Annabhishekam is performed on the full moon day when priests chant mantras and musical instruments like naadaswaram, drum are sounded.
S Sivasubramanian, Secretary of the temple, said: “This year, over 50 kilograms of rice is used for the celebration. The rice is cooked in the temple premises and later carried around the temple. The cooked rice is used to cover the Shiva Linga (Lord Shiv’s idol) along with seasonal fruits and vegetables.”
The temple has been organising this festival for more than 60 years. Sivasubramanian, said: “Different types of food dishes from freshly harvested rice are prepared and offered to Lord Shiva and later distributed as prasad to devotees and cows in nearby area.”
Various types of food made from rice include pongal, curd rice, tamarind rice, payasam and other sweets to name a few.
