At the Gengayiamman Temple at Gopalapuram, Gudiyatham, in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, the yearly Sirasu festival was performed with great zeal and devotion.

The celebration commemorates the mythical scene in which Parashurama revives his mother after decapitating her. Devotees from Gudiyatham and other states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala were in the thousands.

With traditional art performances like silambattam, mayilattam, puliattam, and karagattam, the celebrations started with the ceremonial carrying of the idol’s head (Sirasu) from Muthyalamman Temple in Dharanampet.

The colorful procession passed through a number of streets before arriving at the Gengayiamman Temple, where the Sirasu was ceremoniously put on the adorned body of Chandalaachi, the god.

More than 1,000 police officers were sent in for security, under the direction of Vellore District Superintendent of Police Mathivanan, to guarantee a flawless event. Thousands of devotees lined up for darshan after more than 100 special buses, special poojas, and a ceremonial “eye-opening” rite for the goddess were completed.

Along the procession route, devotees also made offerings such as breaking coconuts, igniting camphor, and garlanding the goddess. To accommodate the enormous turnout, they operated from nearby locations.