Tiruvarur Chariot festival

Asia's biggest and largest chariot is One of the very old and ancient festivals that are often mentioned in the devotional hymns of saints like ( Appar, Tirugnanasambandar and Sundarar) and many Tamil literature, usually held during the summer between months of March and April every year, lasts more than 25 days. On the day of the chariot festival, the uthsava morthi (the lord who comes out for procession) is beautifully decorated and brought out of the temple along with his consort to the Great Car (in Tamil: ஆழித் தேர்) and go for the procession all day long. This chariot is said to the biggest one of its type in size and height. It is 96 feet (29 m) tall and weighs more than 300 tons.[1] Apart from this grand chariot there are 4 more cars for the lord's consort, Subramanya, Ganapathi and Sandikaswerar respectively.[2] All the chariots are large, but relatively smaller than the Great Thear of Tiruvarur. This grand Chariot is extensively decorated with wooden carvings and finishes. It requires a minimum of ten thousand people to pull the chariot around the four surrounding streets of the temple.

The chariot is a beautiful structure with intricate work and the biggest, which was used as the model for the Valluvar Kottam in Chennai. The original chariot was burnt in 1922 in an accident. The new chariot was later built and has replaced the old one in the original grandeur.