Went early morning 6am for the Durga abhishekam. Temple slowly waking up. Ramanan Gurukkal also was there, but not doing much. All sannadhis open, including the lovely Shanmukha who sits in front of a mirror not so he can see himself, but so you can see his 6 heads, including the ones at his back). Venkatesa Gurukkal (the older priest) was directing the younger priest with the stutter doing the abhishekam, which was just jalam and paal. The “gundu gurukkal” (koncham gundaa iruppare? Said the priest aid) would do the alankara later, maybe starting at 8am. He wasn’t there yet in any case. Moolamurti abhishekam about to happen, but not in a major way.
The alankaram lineup:... Varahi (Tuesday, when we went), Mahalakshmi (Wednesday), Santana Lakshmi* (Thursday), Gajalakshmi (Friday), Annapurni (Today)
*Santana Lakshmi (also spelled Santanalakshmi) is one of the Ashta Lakshmis—the eight divine manifestations of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, who collectively preside over different forms of wealth and prosperity. Santan (or Santana) translates to "progeny" or "offspring". Thus, Santana Lakshmi represents the wealth of children, family continuity, and the protection of future generations. But the alankaram didn’t have 6 arms, as Santanalakshmi does - and the Murugan koyil didn’t put baby Skanda on her lap? (says Arun). It does seem somewhat odd. Maybe we got the name wrong.