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The festival of Karthigai Deepam is the one of the oldest living festivals in India. It takes place in the Tamil month of Karthigai when the star Kirthiga is on the ascendant and usually occurs on or before a full moon day. In ancient tamil literature, the oldest available work Tolkappiyam which dates back to 2500 B.C. carries a marked reference to this festival. In another ancient Tamil classic, the Kalavazhi Naarpadu, dating back to the third Sangam period (around 1000 B.C.), the poet writes, “In the battle, the blood oozing out from the dead soldiers’ bodies is like the red coloured flame of the light lit on Karthigai Deepam”. Another song in Sambandar’s Thevaram says that the Lord is verily the Deepam (lit during the Karthigai festival).

Everyone knows that Karthigam Deepam is the lighting of the flame on the summit of Arunachala on Karthigai day but not many people know about the exact reason this festival is celebrated. Readers may remember the legend of the Navaratri festival in earlier posts about how Goddess Parvathi having incurred the wrath of her husband, Lord Shiva, came to the holy hill of Arunachala to do Tapas and regain the favour of her Lord. And so, after a long period of arduous Tapas which the Goddess Parvathi performed with great devotion and strength, Lord Shiva’s wrath was appeased and He came down to Arunachala to take her back. When He arrived, Lord Shiva was so moved by the strength and force which emanated from the Goddess as a result of her Tapas that he decided that She was his equal in every way. Therefore he granted her half his body so that the Two would become totally united in One form. This was the birth of Ardhanareeswara. Physically It signifies the Divine Union of Shiva and Parvathi. Spiritually it signifies the absolute union of Advaita. Not two but One. Shiva and Parvathi are not two but One. Man and God are not two but One.

This momentous event is believed to have happened in the month of Karthigai on the day of Kirthiga Nakshatra and that is why till today the flame is lit on the summit of Arunachala in memory and honour of this wonderful Union which unite Man and God. Moreover Shiva is believed to have manifested as an infinite column of fire at this time and this phenomenon is also linked to the lighting of the flame.

When Sri Muruganar asked Bhagavan Ramana about the significance of the Karthigai Deepam festival, Bhagavan composed a stanza of four lines in which He says, “The true significance of the Karthigai Deepam festival is to turn the intellect inwards and have it fixed in the Heart, thereby merging it with the indweller of the Heart”

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The sixth day of the lunar cycle in the tamil month of Karthigai is celebrated as Skanda Sashti, a festival dedicated to Lord Muruga, the younger son of Lord Shiva. This festival commemorates the great event Soorasumhaaram or the slaying of the demon Soorapadman by Muruga in the form of Skanda, slayer of demons and vanquisher of evil.

In Tiruvannamalai, the big temple of Arunachaleswara celebrates this festival in a very popular and dramatic manner. The battle of  Soorasamharam (destruction of Sooran) takes place at nightfall on the day of Skanda Sashti. Now Skandha  in the form of Arumugam or Shanmukham with six heads and twelve arms goes out in an impressive procession from the big temple after having, earlier, received the sacred weapon (a bow and arrow) from his mother, the Goddess Unnamulaiyamman. First he makes a festive a tour of the four streets around the temple collecting a crowd of devotees everywhere. He then wields his way in the northern direction preceded by the temple elephant and accompanied by his retinue of priests, musicians and devotees.

The procession passes the Durga temple and then stops in front of the Vada Subramanya temple a few metres before the town bus depot. At this place, Lord Muruga is assailed by the demon coming from the North (like all asuras). This is enacted in the form of a giant wooden doll placed on a cart with wheels which comes whizzing down the slope pushed by men from behind. The asura Sooran thus attacks Lord Muruga three times and Skanda wields his bow and lets fly an arrow to strike him each time. After each hit, the head of the Asura changes significantly.

The last head is the Maamarasura, with the head of a mango tree. At the end, the Asura undergoes a change of heart, repents his misdeeds and to signify this, his head is altered into a peacock and a rooster head, being the two mounts of Lord Muruga. The Asura Sooran then pays obeisance to the Lord and thus the festival ends but not without a grand display of fireworks to the delight and cheer of the audience.

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The auspicious and celebrated Karthigai Maasam begins this year on November 17th and ends on December 16th. It is the eight month in the tamil year and derives its name from the Nakshatram or constellation of Krithika or Pleiades. Lord Shiva is the presiding deity of this month and Shiva temples all over India are crowded with devotees practicing vows and oblations to honour and propitiate Him. In Tamil Nadu, there is an ancient religious custom which is still followed, that of waking up before dawn and serenading the Lord with melodious chants from the Tiruvempavai, a collection of devotional hymns praising Lord Shiva and bidding him to awaken and glorify the universe with his Light. Moreover, Ayyappa devotees start the 41-day Ayyappa Deeksha Vrittam and make the annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala during this month.

In Tiruvannamalai, giri pradakshina is performed by many devotees early in the morning during this whole month. Mondays are specially dedicated to Shiva and the Karthigai Somavara Vritham is observed by many traditional devotees where-in they fast and do giri pradakshina and then offer special pujas to the Lord. Karthikai Maasam is also known for the deepams or lamps that are lit in every household and even in shops and business concerns at sunset every day. It is a lovely sight to walk down the streets after dark and see the numerous fire lamps glowing bravely at the entrance of every abode. Another special event of this month is the Mahabharani which is observed in all Shiva temples by lighting bonfires. It just precedes the Karthigai Deepam.

The Karthigai month is also highly auspicious for Lord Muruga as the month is named after the six Krithika stars. Son of Lord Shiva, Muruga was born as 6 different babies and was looked after by the Six Krithika stars. Later Goddess Parvati joined the six babies to give birth to one form with six heads and thus Shanmukha or the 6 headed god was born. He is also called Karthikeya, Subramanya or Muruga. The famous Skanda Sashti festival dedicated to Lord Muruga in commemoration of his victorious battle against the demon Sooran also takes place this month.

The most important festival of the month is the Karthikai Maha Deepam and readers probably know that this festival is of utmost significance in Tiruvannamalai and it is even called the Annamalai Deepam. It is believed that Lord Shiva gave darshan to the universe in the form of an infinite pillar of fire on this day. We will be seeing detailed descriptions about this festival in the coming posts. This year the Karthigai Amavasai or New Moon day is on November 25th and the Karthigai Pournami or full moon day falls on December 10th.

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Hindus believe that the present age is Kali Yugam, the age of darkness and degeneration. The presiding deity of this yugam is Lord Muruga, the Kali Yuga Varadan. His weapon the Vel or spear signifies victory and it is ordained that this will ultimately restore peace and harmony to this chaotic age by destroying arrogance, violence and injustice. The worship of Lord Muruga has been practiced by the dravidians since the pre-christian era. Needless to say that this worship is still continued today with great religious fervour and devotion all over South India and especially in Tamil Nadu.

One of the many legends associated with the origin of Lord Muruga narrates that Lord Shiva emitted sparks from his third eye and these fell into the Saravana Poigai (celestial lake) to become six babies. Six divine damsels then sprung forth to nurse the babies and were subsequently rewarded to appear as the Karthigai or Pleaides constellation. When Shiva’s consort Parvati beheld the beauty of these children, she embraced them all together to become one form with six heads and twelve arms. In this form Lord Muruga is known as Shanmukha or Arumuga Swami(the six headed god).

On the Arunachala girivalam, an old temple to Arumuga Swami can be found on the outer Chengam road about half a kilometre after the Arts college and just opposite the Simha Theertham. The temple has a large vestibule like hall in front where sadhus take shelter. Further inside is an open air quadrangle with plenty of trees and greenery. In the centre, is the actual shrine to the Lord. The deity is in the form of an ancient stone statue depicting Muruga with six heads and twelve arms, majestically seated on a peacock. As is the custom in many girivalam shrines, an old sadhu officiates as priest and performs the puja  It is touching to note that he takes care to wave the arathi flame to each of the six heads in turn by going round the deity. A nice feature of this temple is the quietness  inside as it does not attract many people, so it can also be a good place for meditation.

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