Associated Events

Karthigai deepam is the festival of lighting lamps or diyas on our house. Click here to know about Karthigai deepam in detail.

Bharani Annamalai Deepam

The day before the full moon, during the Bharani nakshatram, people light small terracotta agal lamps similar to the Kartikai lamps, but scaled down. The bharani Deepam is prelude to the grand scale in which lamps are lit for the Kartikai deepam.

Bharani Deepam celebrates Shiva as Arunachaleswara, the supreme, infinite column of fire, the Tejo Lingam or Lingodhbhava. The tirtha or temple at Thiruvannamalai represents the element fire and is one of the Pancha Bhoota Kshetras – one of the five places where Shiva is manifets as one of the elements. Significantly, the priests of the temple at Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, create and light a huge bonfire atop the Thiru Annamalai (the mountain behind the temple). Thousands congregate at Thiruvannamalai for this event.

They circumambulate the mountain, giripradakshina, and climb it to witness this incredible fire that is visible for miles around the mountain. Families living near Thiruvannamalai usually fast all day, go to the temple and eat only after are able to see the Annamalai deepam.
Shiva manifested himself as Lingodhbhava when Brahma and Vishnu squabbled over who was superior. He intervened and initiated a contest between Brahma and Vishnu, stating that the victor would be superior. He challenged them to discover the beginning or the end of a form he assumed, and then became a pillar or flame. Brahma flew towards the top like a swan and Vishnu rapidly ventured to find the roots as a boar. As Brahma ascended, a ketaki flower fell past him. Finding that the ketaki flower came from the top of the column of flame, he requested the ketaki flower to bear false witness to his ascent to the very top ultimately both contestants returned, unable to find the ends of the infinite flame. Ketaki lied on Brahma’s behest and was forever condemned, never to be an ornament for Shiva. Vishnu and Brahma admitted defeat, submitting to the superiority of Shiva.

Chokka Paanai
This seasonal community bonfire on the full moon night usually consists of a pile of agricultural discards, organic dry flammable materials that are thrown together by the community and burnt. Torching discards that could accumulate bacteria and mold was a traditional way to keep villages clean and crops free from rotting mold and fungal spores, in the old days. Perhaps this fire is also a small-scale emulation of the Thiruvannamalai flame. Nowadays, people often insert firecrackers in this pile and watch with excitement as they burst in erratic explosions, thrilling the crowd.