Thiruvathira or Thiruvathirai or Arudhra Darisanam January 05, 2015, INDIA Thiruvathira or Thiruvathirai or Arudhra Darisanam (Malayalam: തിരുവാതിര) is a Hindu festival celebrated in the South Indian state of Kerala and Tamil nadu. Thiruvathirai(Arudhra) in Tamil means sacred big wave, using which this universe was created by Lord Shiva about 132 trillion years ago. Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, the Sri Natarajar temples annual Festival,is celebrated on this date. It takes place on the full moon night in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December–January) and this is also the longest night in a year.Literary and historical evidence in the form of stone inscriptions state that the festival has been celebrated on this day for more than 1500 years. Lord Shiva is praised in Tamil by many names, one of them is Athiraiyan (ஆதிரையன் ), from Thiruvathirai (Thiru + Athirai). Tamil hymns of Manikkavacakars Thiruvasagam (particularly the hymns Thiruvempavai and Thiruppalliezhuchi) are chanted in temples instead of Sanskrit mantras. On the very day of Thiruvathirai the idols of Nataraj (Lord Shiva) and his consort Shivagami (Parvati) are taken out of the temple premises for a grand procession. It is one of the major events in almost all the Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu. Sambandar sung in Tevaram during 7th-9th century, how Thiruvathirai celebrated at Kabaleesharam (present day Mylapore, Chennai). Appar wrote a separate pathigam (10 songs) in Tevaram,in the name Thiruvathirai Pathigam which describes the importance and celebrations of Thiruvathirai. In 4th Tirumurai he sang about the celebration in Tiruvarur. The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva represents five activities – Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release. In essence, it represents the continuous cycle of creation and destruction. This cosmic dance takes place in every particle and is the source of all energy. Arudra Darshan celebrates this ecstatic dance of Lord Shiva. It is essentially a Shaivite festival and celebrates the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, which is represented by the Nataraja form. Arudhra (Thiruvathirai in Tamil) signifies the golden red flame and Shiva performs the dance in the form this red-flamed light. Lord Shiva is supposed to be incarnated in the form of Lord Nataraja during the Arudra Darshan day. Most of the temples around the world with Lord Nataraja and Shiva as deity perform the Arudhra Darshan. Neivedhyam (food for God) made for Lord Nataraja on that day is Thiruvathirai Kali. The festival is celebrated by Sri Lankan Tamils at Thinnapuram Sundareswarar Temple, it is called Eezhathu Chidambaram.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 00:40:20 +0000
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