Madurai, April 16 : Clad in resplendent green silk cloth and mounted on the golden stallion chariot with the sword, Lord Kallazhagar made a grand entry into River Vaigai, amidst chanting of ‘Govinda, Govinda’ from the sea of devotees on Saturday. The procession of the decorated idol of Lord Sundararaja Perumal, also popularly called Lord Kallazhagar, began from the temple in the early hours, followed by thousands of devotees, and entered the River Vaigai at the auspicious time 0630 hours. At the riverbed, the deity was received as per tradition by Lord Veeraraghava Perumal, mounted on his silver stallion. Earlier, a garland of Tulsi, brought from the famous Sri Aandal Temple at Srivilliputhur was adorned to Lord Kallazhagar – a customary practice to express the affection of Goddess Aandal towards the lord. After the rituals at River Vaigai, the idol of Lord Kallazhagar was again taken in a procession to the historic Ramarayar Mandapam in the city, where the devotees sprayed water on the lord as part of the tradition. The spectacular event considered one of the grandest religious celebrations in the sub-continent was held as part of the ongoing 12-day annual Chithirai Brahmotsavam festival of the World-renowned Sri Meenakshi-Sundareswarar Temple. Police estimate that more than five lakh people had converged in Madurai city from various parts of Tamil Nadu to witness the event. The district administration in coordination with various government departments made elaborate arrangements for the grand event. Over 3,000 policemen were deployed for bandobust and crowd management duty. A local holiday was declared for Madurai district in view of the event. GSM CS1031