Bed time for Shiva

Today we are in Madurai , Tamil Nadu. Hari , our driver found us an excellent guide to show us round the Meenakshi Amman Temple. We spent several hours this morning looking around the temple and having the complex history of different Hindu Gods explained to us. This evening we returned to watch the ceremony of Shiva going to his bed in the inner sanctum of Meenakshi ( Parvati). Shiva's palequin was placed down and incense fanned towards it. Priests surrounded it with drums and conche horns playing. A silver plate holding Shiva's footprints was washed and dried before two balls of sandalwood paste and garlands of Jasmine and lotus flowers were placed on top of them. The procession then moved into the inner sanctum and all became quiet. It was an incredible experience and we felt so grateful to have witnessed it.