Lakhs of devotees from various parts of Tamil Nadu gathered at Subramanya Swami temple in Tiruchendur and offered special prayers on the occasion of Vaikasi Visakam festival, which was celebrated on Saturday.After the opening of the sanctum sanctorum, viswaroopa darshan was held followed by udhayamarthanda abishekam and deeparadhana. Other regular puja and rituals were also held throughout the day.After taking a holy dip in the sea and bath in nazhi kinaru (a sacred natural spring), devotees offered prayers at the temple. Thousands of devotees had darshan of Lord Subramanya and fulfilled their vows by carrying kavadi and milk pot (paal kudam)In view of the festival, special buses were arranged from Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari districts.According to police, 600 police personnel have been deployed in Tiruchendur, and separate parking spaces arranged at four places for private vehicles coming from other districts. Police personnel will continue their security duty until Monday morning. Two fire tenders and 16 Fire and Rescue Services personnel have been deployed with eight personnel assigned to each shift.The festival was also celebrated with gaiety and pomp at Suyambulinga Swamy temple at Uvari in Tirunelveli district. After taking a dip in the sea, devotees took sand from the sea in a palm leaf basket and heaped it on shore to fulfill their vows.Other Murugan temples in the southern district also attracted a large number of devotees. Published - May 30, 2026 07:05 pm IST