In pictures: Jayalalithaa laid to rest beside her mentor as millions mourn

Tamil Nadu mourned as former chief minister J Jayalalithaa was buried in a sandalwood casket next to MG Ramachandran\'s memorial at Chennai\'s Marina Beach today. The last rites were performed by Jayalalithaa\'s long-time friend Sasikala. Sasikala also received theTricolour that had been draped over Jayalalithaa\'s body.

Her body was taken to the burial site in a glass casket as thousands followed the route of the procession, showering the hearse with flowers. The funeral procession took over an hour to traverse the 3-kilometre distance between Rajaji Hall and Jayalalithaa\'s final resting place at Marina Beach. All along the route thousands of people had gathered to get a final glimpse of their beloved "Amma."

Massive crowds packed the large grounds of Rajaji Hall, where both men and women wept in grief as they glimpsed the body of their iconic leader through the day.

Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who was sworn in mere hours after Jayalalithaa\'s death, also travelled aboard the hearse. Sasikala, dressed in black, was near Jayalalithaa\'s body the entire day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew in from New Delhi to pay his respects to Jayalalithaa this afternoon. President Pranab Mukherjee and chief ministers of eight states, including Delhi\'s Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav of Uttar Pradesh, as well as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, also flew in to pay their final respects. Across the country, the Tricolour was flown at half mast to mark her passing.

While there were worries that Jayalalithaa\'s passing would spark incidents of violence, there were no reports of violence recorded since the news of her passing. This is a far cry from the aftermath of her arrest on charges of corruption in 2014, during which her party claimed that almost 200 people committed suicide in anger and sorrow while public buses were set on fire.

Earlier this year, Jayalalithaa beat an almost three-decade-long tradition to be re-elected as Tamil Nadu chief minister. Before that, Tamil Nadu alternated between choosing between her AIADMK and political rivals the DMK.