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. 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.
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. 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. |
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| 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.ecethehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/karthigai-deepam-illuminates-rockfort-temple-precincts/article6667713.ece https://navrangindia.blogspot.in/2015/11/colorful-karthigai-deepam-festival-india.htmlhttp://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/karthigai-deepam-lights-up-madurai/article6667683.ece
