Kaarthika Deepam
Festival of Lights
Karthikai Deepam, the festival of lights, basically a Tamil festival is celebrated throughout Tamil Nadu during the month of Karthikai (November-December).
It is one of the oldest festivals celebrated in the State, perhaps even before people began celebrating Deepavali and Navarathri.
The Karthikai Deepam commemorates the appearance of the Lord as a jothi sthambam, an infinite pillar of light at Arunachala.
This festival falls in the Tamil month of Kartigai when the star Krithika is on the ascendant and usually occurs on a full moon day.
One of the earliest references to the festival is found in the Ahananuru, a book of poems, which dates back to the Sangam Age (200 B.C. to 300 A.D.). The Ahananuru clearly states that Karthikai is celebrated on the full moon day (pournami) of the Tamil month of Karthikai. It was one of the most important festivals (peruvizha) of the ancient Tamils.
Avaiyyar, the renowned poetess of those times, refers to the festival in her songs.
In ancient Tamil literature, the oldest available work Tolkappiyam gives in concise verse form rules for Tamil grammar as well as other topics. Scholars agree that this work dates back to 2000 or 2500 BC. In one of the formulae Tolkapiyar in his treatise uses the phrase "like the lampīs flame pointing upwards."
In another epic Jeevakachintamani written by a Jain poet, Thiruthakka Thevar, the poet describes how people celebrated the Karthikai Deepam festival.
In Karnarpadu, the poet in one of the stanzas, describes how in the Tamil month of Karthikai during the time of the Krithika star, the lamps lit by people blossomed on earth, bringing rain in its wake.
In another Tamil work, the Kalavazhi Narpadu dating back to the third Sangam period (after 1000 B.C) the poet says, "In the battle the blood oozing out from the dead soldiersī bodies is like the red coloured flame of the lamps lit during Karthikai Deepam festival".
In another Sangam work, Pazhamozhi, in stanzas ending in proverbs, one stanza ends with this phrase, "like the beacon on the Hill."
Inscriptions in our temples also refer to the festival. A mid-sixteenth Century inscription at the Arulalaperumal temple in Kancheepuram, refers to the festival as Thiru Karthikai Thirunal.
In Sambandarīs Tevaram, while trying to raise a young girl Poompavai from the dead, he asks with deep feeling, "O Poompavai, have you gone without seeing the ancient Karthikai festival?" Another song in Tevaram says that the Lord is verily the deepam (lit during the Karthikai festival).
There is a work on Karthikai Deepam consisting of a hundred stanzas, praising the festival.
When Muruganar asked Bhagavan Ramana about the significance of the Karthikai Deepam festival, Bhagavan composed a stanza of four lines in which he says:
"The true significance of the Karthikai Deepam festival is that it turns the intel-lect inwards and having fixed it in the Heart merges it with the indweller of the Heart".
A story is told like this:
"There was a demon who had, by severe austerities, obtained the boon that he could be invincible and immortal so long as the three forts in which he had entrenched himself were not demolished at one stroke.
Because of these three forts or cities he had come to be known as Tripurasura. The forts were impregnable, one within the other. If only one or two of them were destroyed by his opponents, they would immediately spring up again as strong as ever and the demon would remain unconquerable for such was the boon. Only when all the three forts were demolished and razed to the ground at one stroke and at one time could the demon be vanquished and destroyed.
All the forces of good-the gods-tried to rid the world of the atrocities and tyranny of the demon but could not succeed They could destroy one fort or at least two and that too one after the other and the forts would spring up again, none the worse in all the onslaughts of the gods.
In despair the defeated gods approached Lord Shiva to come to their help and protect the world.
The merciful Lord Shiva agreed.
All the gods joined Him and made up His equipment.
Armed with the organised strength of the gods, he took up his great bow and sallied forth against the demon. In the beginning, He too demolished one fort or two but found them springing up again and again without even so much as a scratch. Then remembering the boon the demon had been blessed with, Lord Shiva took out His terrible Arrow and shot it at the three forts and lo! The impregnable walls came crumbling down and became dust and could not come into being again and the fearful demon deprived of his invincible shelter was slain
The whole creation heaved a sigh of relief and once again righteousness reigned in the world People could freely follow their religious duties and live in peace and prosperity.
It was this auspicious Kartika Purnima-Full Moon Day-when this great victory of good over evil was achieved and so it is observed as a day of rejoicing and at night a big light is lighted in honour of the Lord's victory. "
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Courtsey: Mailerindia.com
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Mt Arunachala is considered to be a linga of Lord Siva.
It is traditional to circumambulate the mountain, which is 13km around. You can get a map at the Ramanashram that describes the holy places in the area of the mountain. The inner path, which begins near the Annamalai Ashram, is more pleasant than the main road that goes around the mountain. It is traditional to do the walk barefooted.
Arunachaleswara Temple:
It is at the foot of Mt Arunachala and is one of the largest temples in all of India. It has a 60m (198 ft), 13-storey high, beautifully sculptured gopuram and a thousand-pillar hall. The Vijayanagar ruler Krishnadeva Raya (1502-29) built most of the temple, but the inner part of the temple dates back to the 11th century. The temple has four enclosures.
In this temple is one of the five xe "element linga" element lingas, the fire-linga. There are also temples dedicated to Subrahmanya and Parvati on the premises.
There is an intertwined neem and bodhi tree on the north side of the temple, which devotees circumambulate and then make an offering to have a happy marriage and healthy children.
If you enter the temple from the eastern gate, on your right is a thousand-pillared hall, which is where the temple elephant usually hangs out. On your left are the large Sivaganga tank and a Subrahmanya shrine.
Just before you enter the next enclosure, on your right is the Parthalia-linga.Within the next enclosure is a shrine dedicated to the consort of Lord Siva and a Nandi bull facing the temple of Lord Siva. Within the enclosure are deities on the walls, such as Siva, Parvati, Subrahmanya, Ganesh, Venugopala (Krishna) and Lakshmi.
The inner shrine is dedicated to Lord Siva.
Ramanashram:
This is the ashram where Ramana Maharshi lived for the last 20 years of his life. He stayed in Tiruvannamalai for almost 50 years. The ashram is located at the base of Mt Arunachala about 2km southwest of town.
Virupaksha & Skandasraman Caves
If you follow a path near the northwest corner of the temple, behind the ashram, for 20 minutes you come to the Virupaksha cave.
Ramana Maharishi stayed here from 1899 to 1916. There is a Siva-linga inside the cave and a bench outside the cave which was built by him.
Ramana Maharishi later moved to the Skandasraman cave, a few minutes more up the hill, where he lived from 1916 to 1922. The Ramanashram Ashram looks after these caves.)
om...
sri aanandavalli sri amritavalli sametha
shri subrahmanya swamine namah...
sha ra va na bha va
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