‘Sacred’ lemon fetches Rs 27,000 at annual temple auction in TN

VILLUPURAM: A lemon usually costs just a few rupees. But not the ones spiked on the spear of the presiding deity at a temple in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu Nine such lemons auctioned by the temple management at the end of the 11-day Panguni Uthiram festival fetched Rs 68,000. Of this, Rs 27,000 was paid for just one lemon. It is a custom at the Balathandayuthapani temple in Tiruvanainallur to auction lemons spiked on the spear of the presiding deity, Muruga.A lemon is spiked every day during the first nine days of the festival. Residents of Tiruvanainallur and the surrounding region believe that possessing these lemons brings prosperity. They also believe the lemons help childless couples become parents. The lemon used to decorate the spear on Day One is considered the “most auspicious and powerful”. A couple from Ottananthal, Mahalingam and Jayanthi, purchased this year’s first for Rs 27,000.“The couple have children, but they bought the lemon for good health and prosperity,” said M Kanagasabesan, a village elder. The lemons used on the second and third day of the puja fetched Rs 6,000 each while the one used on Day Four went for Rs 5,800.Last year, the lemon from the first day fetched Rs 39,000, with the temple raising Rs 57,722 altogether. The Panguni Uthiram festival has been celebrated for several years at the temple, which is located at a place where two hillocks merge in the village. Kanagasabesan said the villagers were not aware when exactly the temple was established.“The temple became famous over a period of time. Forty years ago, the temple gave away the lemons used for the ritual free of cost but the demand for them led the management to begin auctioning them,” recalled the elder.