CHITTIRAI -(First Month) The festivals in Chittirai
Tamil New Year (Putthandu)
Time of Celebration of Tamil New Year
Based
on the solar cycle, the Tamil calendar has a sixty years cycle, with
each year comprising twelve months. The Tamil New Year is celebrated
after the vernal equinox and it generally falls on April 14 of the
Gregorian Year.
Description of Tamil New Year
The
Tamil New Year which usually falls on April 14th is an occasion that
calls for celebration for Tamilians all over the world. Tamilaians
from different sphere of the society come forward to take part in
this celebration.This is supposedly the day when Lord Brahma (the
Creator of the world, according to Hindu mythology) started creation.
People exchange greetings of 'Puthandu Vazthukal' (Happy New Year)
with great fervor on this day.
The
Tamil New Year day begins with viewing the 'kani' (the auspicious
sight) at dawn, out of the expectation that starting the New Year by
looking at auspicious things will bring good luck all through the
year. The auspicious things include gold and silver jewelry, betel
leaves, nuts, fruits and vegetables, flowers, raw rice and coconuts.
It is followed by people taking a ritual bath and then they visit the
temple to pray for a happy and prosperous New Year. After this, the
Panchangam (almanac) is read.
During
the Tamil New Year celebrations, women decorate the entrance to their
houses with 'kolam' (design made with rice flour), and adorn the
doorway with mango leaves. Every year on Tamil New Year, a grand car
festival is held at Tiruvadamarudur near Kumbakonam. The month of
Chitthirai also witnesses the marriage of Goddess Meenakshi to Lord
Sundereswarar, which is celebrated as Chitthirai Festival.
The
highlight of Tamil New Year Festival in Tamil Nadu is the 'Maanga
Pachadi' (a dish made of raw mangoes, jaggery and neem flowers),
which tastes sweet, sour and bitter at the same time. This signifies
the various aspects of our lives.
Chittira Pornami (Chittirai Purnima)
This is a unique Tamil festival
observed on the full moon day (Poornima) in the month of Chitirai
(April – May). In 2017, the date of Chitirai Pournami is May 10.
The day is dedicated to Chitragupta, the official keeper of deeds in
the abode of Yama. It is believed that bathing in holy rivers and
temple ponds on the day will wash away the sins committed.
In
Hinduism, Chitragupta, the first assistant of Lord Yama, is the one
who keeps record of the good and bad deeds of human beings on earth.
After death, when one reaches the abode of yama, it is he who
tallies the good and bad deeds and declares it to Yama. Therefore,
the day is dedicated to Chitragupta and devotees pray to him to
forgive their sins.
Another
important legend associated with Chitra Poornima, involves Lord
Indra, the king of Gods, and his Guru Brihaspati. Once Indra and
Brihaspati had an altercation, and the Guru stopped advising his
pupil. Without the sound counsel of his Guru, Indra committed
numerous sins.
Finally,
when Brihaspati relented and took up his duty. He then advised Indra
to undertake a pilgrimage to the earth to alleviate the burden of
sins committed by him in his absence.
One
day during his pilgrimage, Indra had a sudden realisation that he
has been redeemed from his sins. He looked around and noticed
a Shivlingam under
a Kadamba tree. He was sure that it was Lord Shiva who had helped
him in alleviating his sins. He decided to worship the Lingam and to
his surprise he found golden lotus in a nearby pond. He prayed to
Shiva by offering the golden lotus. This happened on a Chitra
Pournami day and the place was in Tamil Nadu. In
remembrance of this event, in the Madurai Meenakshi temple, a
Devendra Puja is observed on Chitra Poornima.
Elaborate
pujas are done on Chitirai Pournami in temples and a special rice
offering is made to Chitragupta.
Chittirai Tiruvizha
The
Chithirai Tiruvizha (festival) in Madurai is among the world’s
longest annual celebrations (lasts for about a month). It is
celebrated in an attempt to unite the Vishnavites and the Shaivites.
It does so by re-enacting the wedding of Lord Sundareswarar (Lord
Shiva) and Goddess Meenakshi (Lord Vishnu’s sister).
Held
in the famous Meenakshi Temple, it’s a festival that has been
celebrated since ancient times, it has
never failed to attract the attention of both national and
international tourists. If a trip to Madurai
is on the cards, check out these five fascinating facts about the
fest
1) A
Four Hundred Year Old Festival
The
heart of Madurai is the chosen location for this festival, which has
been celebrated since a long time ago. History has it that this
festival dates back four hundred centuries. Since then it has been a
crowd puller and still is. Lakhs of people gather here to celebrate
this occasion. It’s wonderful to be a part of a historically
significant festival. Earlier the festival was celebrated in
Sholavandan, but then King Thirumalai Naykar, changed the place of
celebrations to Madurai.
You will come across old black and white pictures of the Chithirai festival where people would arrive at the temple in bullock-driven carts to worship. To keep this tradition alive, most people stick to it and still arrive at the temple premises on bullock carts. Many say that their past generations would always travel by bullock cart to reach there and had always wished the next generation to follow in their footsteps. This is why this ritual is still alive among the masses. The improving condition of the roads has been a boon for the visitors, as the travel time has come down from a week to a day.
3) Two different Festivals: Meenakshi and Alagar
Historically
speaking, originally there used to be two different festivals namely
the Meenakshi festival and the Alagar festival. They were celebrated
in two different months. The Shaivites celebrated the Meenakshi
festival. It is believed that Meenakshi is the daughter of the
Pandya king who is also another avatar of Goddess Sakthi, the wife
of Lord Shiva. She was born out of the fire and grew up to become a
fearless warrior. After conquering the world she attacked Kailasam
where Shiva lived, but fell in love with him. Both married and Shiva
ruled the Pandya kingdom from then on. Alagar (The handsome one) is the name bestowed upon the GOD by the beloved devotees. Alagar steals the heart of many a devotee and hence is also know as "Kalla alagar". A thief is called "Kallan|".
The
Vaishnavites believed that there was an ascetic named Mandoorka
rishi who was once bathing in the holy waters of the Alagar Hills.
Durvasar Maharishi, a powerful and short-tempered god entered an on
finding Mandoorka not welcoming him cursed him to become a frog. To
revive from the curse Mandoorka travels to the river Vaigai where
the 10 avatars of Vishnu bless him.
4) Merging of the two festivals by King Thirumalai Naykar.
King
Thirumalai Naykar was the one who shifted the festival to Madurai,
but the biggest achievement was to unite the followers of Shiva and
Vishnu under the umbrella of a festival, which would celebrate both
the Gods and Goddesses believed by each. Since then on it has been
celebrated as one big month-long festival, which takes place every
year during the Tamil month of Chithirai. The name therefore changed
to Chithirai Tiruvizha after its transformation.
5) A List of Events at the Festival
- The Chithirai Festival being a month long affair includes several events.
- First is the Kodi Yetram.The chief priest of the Meenakshi temple hoists a flag, which marks the beginning of the festival.
- Next is the Pattabisekam – a coronation ceremony for the gods.
- After this is the Dikvijayam, which is followed by the Meenakshi Tirukalyanam.
- These are the celebration of the love affair and the marriage of Meenakshi with Shiva.
- Next is Ther Thiruvizha, where people pull the chariot of Meenakshi.
- This is followed by Ethir Sevai and the event of Alagar Vaigai Elenthuarulal.
- With this the festival closes.
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