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Karthigai Deepam festival that accentuates the positive mind and eliminates the blues!!

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 India is a land of different festivals, of  varied cultures and traditions. The Hindus  from various regions of India  celebrate the festivals with same religious fervor as we find in other regions. Karthigai Deepam is also a  festival of lights that takes place after  Deepavali.  Karthikai Deepam ( Karthikai Vilakkidu  in Tamil) is an important  festival being  widely observed across South India. particularly in Tamil Nadu. It falls in the month of Kārtthikai (mid-November to mid-December) as per Tamil calendar. On the Karthikai day,  the moon is synchronous with the constellation Karthigai (Pleiades) and pournami. This constellation looks like  a group of six stars in the firmament  resembling a pendant from the ear. In the neighboring state of Kerala, this festival  goes by the name of Thrikkarthika and in many states it is called  Kartik Purnima, but is scheduled to take place on a different date. This year, the main part of Karthigai Deepam  festival - lighting of Mahadeepam falls on 2 December and it is a main event at Arunachaleswarar temple, Thiruvannamalai town, Tamil Nadu. It is  more than 1000 years old, patronized by many saints of Tamil region.  

Karthigai Deepam at Thiruvannamalai temple. Sampath Speaking
The the most sacred  part of this unique festival is lighting of oil lamps at homes, temples and  in  the work place. The idea behind this festival is to  get rid of the old, unwanted things in the house and replacing them with new ones and it has philosophical connotation, implying elimination of bad or negative thoughts and replacing them with positive  thoughts,  just like a ray of light dispelling darkness.  Hence, in this festival oil lamps are personification of holiness and prosperity.  The place where it is lit gets sanctified, creating positive energy. When you light a series  of oil lamps at home, it brings in happiness, so much so, in the temples oil lamps create an atmosphere of reverence, respect  and devotion to the all pervading god.

Kerala, Vaikom Mahadeva Temple, manoramaonline.com
Thiruvannamalai temple, Tamil Nadu. Deccan Chronicle
On the  Karthikai day, Lord Shiva appeared at Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu as a huge column of fire, stretching from the earth to the heaven, suggesting God is fathomless, no end, no beginning and  is omnipresent. Behind the Arunachaleswarar temple at this town on the Arunachala hill, it has been a tradition for centuries to light a giant oil lamp in the evening. After the Maha deepam is lit  on this hill, across Tamil Nadu in all Hindu homes, oil lamps (preferably earthen lamps) will be  lit. At the Arunachaleswarar temple it is a ten day long festival beginning with flag-hoisting on the golden mast (Dwajasthambham) and  coming to a close following Karthikai deepam. During the festival  days, around the mada streets, each day there will be a procession of the deities (Utchavars). The car (chariot / Ther) festival falls on the 7 th day and deities would be taken out on five  colorfully decorated  huge wooden chariots. Devotees  would pull them manually along the  four mada streets. The highlight of the festival is lighting of the Karthigai Maha Deepam on the temple premises and on the hill. This would be followed by  three-day float festival (Theppa Thiruvizha / Theppo Urchavam) which  will be held in the huge temple tank.
Karthigai. Arunachaleshwara Temple, Tamil nadu. Poompuhar
Since Thiruvannamalai town happens to be the main venue of this festival, normally more than 800,000 devotees would attend the 10 day festival.  Among the devotees, a large section  of them would perform  “Girivalam”(walking barefoot around the Arunachala hill, covering roughly 14 km during  the full moon night chanting prayers)  around the hill, when the Maha Deepam is lit. 

 Uchipillayar temple,'Karthigai Deepam,Tiruch, the Hindu com.
karthigai deepam wick Tiruchi rockfort. www.thehindu.com
Above image: Tiruchi rockfort. An auspicious start, temple employees carrying  huge cotton wicks for the massive lamp to be lit atop the Rockfort Thayumanaswamy Temple in Tiruchi,  Tamil Nadu for the forthcoming Karthigai deepam festival, on 2 December 2017.......................... 

 On the Karthigai deepam day in the city of Tiruchirapalli, “Karthigai deepam”  will be lit in the evening around 6 pm on a cauldron made of copper atop Rockfort Sri Thayumanaswamy Temple (dedicated to Lord Shiva).  A large number of devotees  will participate in this holy festival with utter devotion and reverence. According to temple authorities, the  deepam will keep going  for three  long days.  It is quite interesting to note that
preparation for the big-sized wick for the “deepam” will be taken up at least one week before the festival.  A whooping 6,000-metre cotton cloth is used for  making the  giant wick, and about 1,000 liters of ‘iluppai’ and gingely oil besides ghee will be used  to get the deepam going. The Maha deepam with all its brilliance  atop the rock fort will be visible all around the city.  Later there will be a procession of idols around the nearby streets. 

Karthigai deepam, Meenakshi temple, Madurai .thehindu.com/
At Madurai Meenashi temple, TN this festival  is  held with religious fervor and piety; oil lamps will be lit in front of houses and business houses. In the past the lighting of one lakh clay lamps on the temple premises  was a major event as part of  the ‘Karthigai Deepam’ celebration and the illumination around the temple tank enhanced the beauty and grandeur of this famous temple.  

Karthigai deepam, Thiruparamkundram temple.thehindu.com

At the near-by Subramaniya Swamy temple, Thiruparamkundram, Maha Deepam will be lit in the evening after puja.  At the entrance of homes around the temple, as in other places, people will light the clay lamp after Maha Deepam is lit atop the hill. According to the temple officials, preparation for the Maha Deepam here is done by the team from Thiruvannamalai and it takes quite a few days to make the preparation. Normally 120 meters of cotton cloth, 5 kgs of camphor  and about 350 liters of oil and ghee are needed for the Maha deepam.  

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/%E2%80%98Karthigai-Deepam%E2%80%99-begins-tomorrow-in-Tiruvannamalai/article16741485.ece

thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/karthigai-deepam-illuminates-rockfort-temple-precincts/article6667713.ece

 https://navrangindia.blogspot.in/2015/11/colorful-karthigai-deepam-festival-india.html

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/karthigai-deepam-lights-up-madurai/article6667683.ece



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