'Sacred' lemon fetches Rs 27k 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 auc tioned 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. At the Balathandayuthapani temple in Tiruvanainallur, a lemon is spiked every day on the spear of the presiding duty , Muruga, during the first nine days of the festival, and then auctioned.Residents of Tiruvanainallur and the surrounding region believe that possessing these lemons brings prosperity , and helps childless couples become parents.

The lemon used to decorate the spear on Day One is considered the “most auspicious“. A couple from Ottananthal 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.

Last year, the lemon from the first day fetched Rs 39,000.

The Panguni Uthiram festival has been celebrated for several years at the temple. Kanagasabesan said the villagers were not aware when exactly the temple was established.“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.