Thrissur: The Illam Nira ceremony for prosperity in agriculture and farming was held in the main temples across the district on Sunday. The faithful thronged the temples early in the morning to receive small bundles of paddy spikes symbolising prosperity. After conducting special poojas on the bundles, the devotees took the small bunches with hay to be hanged at their home.
At Lord Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayur, the Illam Nira started by 7.30 am. First, the bundles of paddy kept on special Mandapam near the sanctum sanctorum were carried on their head by the members of the families traditionally assigned the job to its Eastern Entrance Tower. Later, the bundles were cleansed sprinkling holy water by the assistant priests. Afterwards, they were kept on platters made of bronze and taken to the Nalambalam of the temple by nearly 50 priests from families traditionally attached to the temple accompanied by traditional percussionists playing their instruments.
The head priest then conducted Mahalakshmi pooja on the bundles kept at the Namaskara Mandapam near the sanctum sanctorum. After that, the paddy bundles were offered to the chief deity and also the sub-deity Ganapathi, Ayyappa and Bhagavathi. With the completion of Pooja, the paddy bundles were handed over to the devotees who had reached the temple from far-off places like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The ceremony was also held in Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi temples in the city.
