Today's line-up: Amavasya – Nadu Shanmuga Velayutha Mudaliar samadhi puja. Then: Krittikai – Murugan abhishekam. Both of these are usually held at 5:30pm, but since Amavasya and Krittikai fall together today, samadhi puja was held at 7am.
We went at 7am, Arun battling a cold, and saw Gangai Vinayaka’s opening jala-abhishekam and alankaram. Then walking round the corner, Sivakadhir Swami opened the Nandhikeswara temple. After washing some vessels and bathing the Nandi at the dhvajastambha, he headed downstairs to the chamber directly beneath the garbhagriha and performed the Amavasya abhishekam for the small lingam on the samadhi. We realised then that the preponing of the abhishekam meant it got combined with the regular jala-abhishekam rather than being a dedicated event. The only speciality for the occasion was the use of paal in the abhishekam, and a coating of Sambal on the little lingam before it got its alankaram. Coming up, he did the jala-abhishekam for the OM stone and the little Vinayaka before the balipeetham. The moola lingam and Ambal also got a jala-abhishekam. Finally there was a deeparadhanai, first at for the samadhi downstairs, then for the moola murtis.
All deities were then offered naivedyam of shuddhannam and ghee.
We hear from him that initially Nandhikeswara was the moola murti of this temple, until the Dharmapuram Adheenam advised them that one cannot keep Pashu (in this case Nandi) without the presence of Pati (Siva). The moola lingam and Ambal were then installed.