Marriamman Temple

Prayer: It is remarkable that the main deity in the sanctum sanctorum is made of mud from snakepit. Therefore, there is no practice of daily abishekams to Goddess Mariamman. Instead, special abishekam (thailabishekam) using herbal preparations is applied for a period of forty eight days, once in five years. During this time, rituals like nivedams are conducted using curd and tender coconut water to keep Goddess Mariamman cool. Even to this day, during summers, pearl shaped sweat appears in the face and head of deity automatically and disappears later.

Hence, the deity is also called Muthu Mariamman (Pearl Mariamman). Weekends, especially Sundays, the temple is very crowded by devotees. Many devotees also stay inside the temple complex overnight. Head tonsuring, offering of poultry, cattle and goats to Mariamman are some of the practices followed by devotees seeking peaceful life. To cure bodily ailments, people also offer body organ shaped amulets with silver and gold. Girls seeking a blessed married life, come to the temple and offer Mangal Sutra (auspicious thread) to the deity. For a long time, it has been customary for those who suffer from smallpox and chickenpox to come and stay in the temple for a week.

They have a separate hall to stay. Such persons attend all four pujas in a day and drink the abhisheka milk. It is believed that drinking the abisheka milk will cure people of pox and many other illnesses. There is a belief among the devotees that if the infected fill the temple tanks with water, they will be cured of the pox. For those suffering from any unusual lesions or growth in the body, it is believed that if they throw jaggery on the &amplsquoJaggery tank’ inside the temple, their problems will also disappear.