Masi (Eleventh Month) The Festivals in Masi
Masi (Eleventh Month) The Festivals in Masi
One of the important rituals on this day is the taking of idols to the seashore or ponds. Therefore the festival is also referred as holy bath ceremony. Long processions from different temples arrive at the sea shore with the idols of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva. Idols from Shakti temples are also brought to the seashore. Pujas and other rituals are held at the sea shore and thousands of devotees throng the sea shore on this day to offer prayer.
There are numerous myths in vogue related to Masi Makam. Each temple has a myth for celebrating Masi Makam. The most important one is related to Lord Shiva. Legend has it that Lord Shiva appeared as a child before King Vallala of Tiruvannamalai who was an ardent devotee. The king had no child and Lord Shiva promised to perform his last rituals. The king died on a Masi Magam day and it is said that the Lord performed his last rites. Lord Shiva also blessed the king by saying that whoever bathes in the sea during Masi Magam will merge with him and will get ‘mukthi.’ It is believed that every year the Lord visits the sea to perform the last rites of the king.
Once in twelve years the Masi Magam attains even more significance and then Maha Maham is held. Apart from the full moon, during the Maha Maham there is the movement of Jupiter into Leo (singha rasi.) Maha Maham is of great importance at the Adi Kumbeswaran temple in Kumbakonam. There is sacred teerth (tank) called Maha Maham here.
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| Maha Makam |
Natham Masi Festival
Thousands of devotees witness the climbing of slippery pole, a rural sport conducted as part of annual Masi festival celebrations held every year at Sri Mariamman Temple in Natham.
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| Slippery Pole |
Natham town wears a festive look as hundreds of devotees, clad in yellow, carry fire pots and take out a holy procession to reach the temple. Meanwhile, temple organisers prepare a ‘gundam’ (fire path) for the fire-walk festival. A few tonnes of fire wood are burnt to lay the fire-path, according to temple officials. The fire-walk ceremony commences after the pole climbing event.
Meanwhile, rural youth struggles for hours to climb the slippery pole erected before the temple. They use wet towels to gain grip to reach the top and grab the neem leaves tied at the tip of the pole.
Earlier, the organisers had prepared
the pole for this special event. They had polished a tall eucalyptus
tree to create a smooth outer surface. Aloe juice and castor oil were
applied to make it more slippery. After special pujas to the main
deity, participants started climbing the pole. After hours of
struggle, a youth reached the tip and grabbed the neem leaves.
Thousands witnessed the event.
Later the fire walk festival commences with religious fervour. First, temple pujaris enter into the
gundam. Later, around 12,000 devotees enter into the holy gundam.
Men and women, irrespective of their age, walk on the fire-path.
Devotees from Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga, Tiruchi,
Ramanathpauram and nearby districts witness the festival. The holy
Kambam is immersed into the temple tank previous night. The festival
would conclude with the procession of goddess Mariamman on the
palanquin in the town on The next day morning.
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| Fire Walk |
Temple authorities and town panchayat administration make elaborate arrangements for the festival. More than 500 police personnel are deployed to regulate the crowd. Special buses are also operated to Natham from Dindigul and Madurai for the convenience of devotees.
Maasi Sevvai
The Tuesdays of Maasi are considered quite auspicious and people follow many vrathams on this day.
Holi
A very colourful festival celebrated in North India, Holi has many legends associated with it.
Holi
falls on the full moon day of Maasi
It
is said to be the celebration of victory of good over the evil.
Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu and aunt of Prahlad had the power to
walk through raging fires without getting burnt. In one of his trials
to kill his son Prahlad, Hiranyakashipu asked Holika to make Prahlad
sit on her lap and enter the fire so that Prahlad will be killed.
Prahlad was protected by Lord Vishnu and Holika was killed as her
boon is supposed to work only if she enters the fire alone.
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| Holi Fire |
Another
legend is the Kama dhaganam
(காம
தகனம்)
(burning
of Manmadha or Kama, the God of Love) Lord Shiva is in penance and
Parvathi has taken the form of Himavan’s daughter. The asuras are
in supreme power and the Devas need Shiva and Parvathi to beget a son
to destroy the asuras. They request Manmadha to use his flower arrows
on Lord Shiva. Manmadha does this and the Lord opens his third eye in
anger and Manmadha is burnt to ashes. This event is called Kama
dhaganam
and
the day it took place is being celebrated as Holi.
Later
Lord Shiva married Parvathi and on Manmadhan’s consort, Rathi’s
request, Lord Shiva brought Manmadha back to life.
Holi also marks the end of winter season and beginning of spring and we see colourful flora all around us.
Whatever maybe the story behind it, Holi is celebrated on a grand scale in many parts of India with people applying colour on each other and playing with waterfilled guns called pichkaris.
Maha
Shivaratri (மகா
சிவராத்திரி)
Every
month, the 14thday
of waning moon (krishna paksham கிருஷ்ண
பக்ஷம்)
is celebrated as Shivaratri.
This
day in the month of Maasi
is
celebrated as Maha
Shivaratri. Wedding
of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati is said to have taken place on this
day. The Lord is said to have performed the cosmic dance, Thandavam
also
on this day. Special abishekams
and
poojas
are
done to the Shiva Lingams
in
the temples all over India on this day. People fast the whole day and
be awake in the night praying to the Lord as being awake on this
night is said to increase one’s energy levels.
Why Do We Celebrate Maha Shivaratri?
From Lord Shiva’s birth to his Neelkanth legend and marriage with Goddess Parvati, there are stories and beliefs galore on why we celebrate Maha Shivaratri. Here’s a look at some of them.
Maha Shivaratri is one of the biggest festivals of Hindus who worship Lord Shiva. Maha Shivaratri is celebrated on the Chaturdashi of Krishna Paksha in Phagun, the Hindu lunar month.
Devotees offer water, milk, dhatura, bhaang, akwan flowers to Shiva’s idol or Shivalinga and worship the Hindu God of destruction. Shiva is considered the ideal husband and unmarried girls and women pray for a husband like him.
In Hindu mythology, everyday in the calendar holds some significance and the stories often vary from different regions and communities. We take a look at some of the mythical stories behind
Maha Shivaratri.
Wedding of Shiva and Parvati
North Indians celebrate the day as the wedding anniversary of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Temples are decorated with flowers and devotees take out a procession in the name of Bhole ki baraat or Shiva’s baraat procession in the evening.
Shiva’s birthday - the emergence of Shivalinga
According to a legend in the Shiva Purana, two of the triads of Hindu Gods - Brahma and Vishnu - were fighting to establish who’s superior between the two. Horrified at the intensity of the battle, the other gods asked Shiva to intervene and he assumed the form of a huge column of fire in between Brahma and Vishnu to make them realise the futility of their fight. Brahma and Vishnu decided to find the topmost end of the fire column. Brahma assumed the form of a swan and went upwards while Vishnu took the form of Varaha and went inside earth. As light has no limit, neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find the end despite searching for thousands of miles.
During his journey upwards, Brahma came across a Ketaki flower wafting down slowly. When asked where she had come from, the flower replied she had been offered at the top of the fire column. Brahma decided to end his search and take the flower as a witness. This angered Shiva who then punished Brahma for lying and cursed him that no one would ever pray to him. Till date, Hindus do not worship Brahma and there is only one temple dedicated to him - the Pushkar temple in Rajasthan. The Ketaki flower too was banned from being used as an offering for any worship, as she had testified falsely. Since Shiva helped pacify the fight among the Gods, the day is celebrated in his honour.
The legend of Neelkantha
Another popular belief associates Maha Shivaratri with the legend of Lord Shiva drinking poison to save the universe. During the churning of the ocean (the legendary sagar manthan), gods and demons discovered several objects and one of them was a poison pot. Lord Shiva drank the poison to save the universe from its effects. Gods danced in order to protect Shiva from the harmful effect of the poison and keep him awake for a night. The poison eventually didn’t harm Shiva, but turned his neck blue. This was when he got the name Neelkantha. Since then, the night is celebrated as Maha Shivratri.
Hunter who discovered Shivalinga
According to a popular legend, a hunter could not find anything to kill for his food in a forest, he decided to spend the night on the branch of a Bel tree to be safe from wild animals. To keep himself awake, the hunter started throwing the leaves of the tree on the ground, unaware that there was a Shivalinga beneath the tree. Pleased with the patience of the hunter, Lord Shiva appeared in front of the hunter and blessed him with wisdom. It was the night when we now celebrate Maha Shivaratri. According to another belief, every Kashmiri girl is a Parvati and is wedded to Shiva. The Shivratri symbolises the wedding.
When Earth worshipped Lord Shiva
According to another popular belief, Goddess Parvati once pleaded Lord Shiva to save the earth when it faced destruction. Lord Shiva agreed to save the world on the condition that the people of the Earth would have to worship him with dedication and passion. From that day onwards, the night came to be known as Maha Shivratri. It is believed that flowers bloom exactly the day after Maha Shivratri, hinting at the fertility of the earth.
Herath
In Kashmir, Shiva followers observe the day as Har-ratri or Haerath or Herath. Mentioned as ‘Bhairavotsava’ in Tantric texts, Bhairava and Bhairavi are invoked through Tantric worship. According to the legend, the linga appeared at the dusk as a blazing column of fire and dazzled Vatuka Bhairava and Rama (or Ramana) Bhairava, Mahadevi’s mind-born sons, who approached it to discover its beginning or end but miserably failed. Exasperated and terrified, they began to sing its praises and went to Mahadevi, who merged herself with the awe-inspiring jwala-linga. The Goddess blessed both Vatuka and Ramana that they would be worshipped by human beings and would receive their share of sacrificial offerings on that day.
Shiva’s dance
According to another popular legend, Maha Shivaratri is the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance of creation, preservation and destruction. The chanting of hymns, the reading of Shiva scriptures by devotees joins this cosmic dance. Maha Shivaratri is marked by annual dance festivals at major Hindu temples Konark, Khajuraho, Pattadakal, Modhera and Chidambaram. Nataraja - the supreme god of dances - is also another form of Lord Shiva. Shiva’s dances, tandava and lasya are performed in different forms by classical dancers with respect for Shiva.
All information in the above blog is sourced from various articles on the web. Nothing is original!!!
Do not miss the next edition - "Panguni the Twelth month" to be published on 14th July.
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