Devotees of Lord Muruga at Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram temple have deep faith in the miraculous properties of lemons that are pierced with the sacred spear of the deity. Nine lemons fetched Rs 2.36 lakh at an auction on Tuesday.
Devotees believe that drinking lemonade made from these lemons cures infertility and brings prosperity. The temple is famous for its sacred lemons.
Childless couples come to visit the small temple during the annual Panguni Uthiram festival. The lemons are auctioned by the temple management. Apart from childless couples, traders and businessmen buy the lemons seeking prosperity in their business ventures.
During the nine-day festival, the temple priests pierce a lemon each day on the deity’s spear. The lemons are auctioned on the last day of the festival. The lemon pierced on the spear on the first day is believed to be the “most auspicious and powerful”. This year, a couple from Kulathur village bought that lemon for Rs 50,500.
People who won the bids for the lemons bathed and received them after kneeling before the priests. The temple has been celebrating this festival for years.
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