Kartikai Deepam

When is Karthigai Deepam?
It occurs on the Month of Kartikai / November and Nakshatra  Krittika. The thithi on the day is full moon night, Pournami.

Legends of Karthigai Deepam.

There are two legends about Karthigai Deepam. One is related to Lord Shiva and the other is related to Lord Muruga.

Lord Shiva- the beam of Light

As per ancient mythology, Once lord Vishnu and Brahma got into an argument to know who was superior , Lord Vishnu or Lord Brahma. Then Lord SHiva appeared before them as a huge beam of fire and asked either of them to find the begining or the end of this beam of fire. Lord Brahma opted to travel upward and Lord Vishnu decided to travel to the nether world to find the end. On the way, Lord Brahma saw a Champa flower that fell from the head of the beam of light. ” You will not be able to find the beginning of this beam of fire, I have been traveling for a lot many number of light years, yet have not even reached the  middle part of the beam” said the champa flower to Lord Brahma. So Lord Brahma thought of a foul play.” Can u become a false witness and and say Lord Shiva that I saw the beginning and took you from the head as a witness?’ asked Lord Brahma to the Champa flower. The flower accepted with some hesitation at first.

On the other end, Lord Vishnu had returned stating he was not able to see the end and that he accepts his defeat. Lord Shiva knew that Lord Brahma was lying to Him, So he cursed the witness, the champa flower not to be used in any pooja. Lord Brahma also was punished, one of His heads were cut off. He was also abonded from having a dedicated temple for Himself. That is why we don’t find many Lord Brahma temples.

It is believed that the day that Lord Shiva showed up as a Huge beam of fire is celebrated as Karthigai deepam. It is believed that Thiruvannamalai is the place where he appeared as a huge beam of fire. Devotees undertake a girivalam, circumambulation of the hill during Karthigai deepam and many other days. Click here to know its significance and the Ashta lingas in the Girivala path.

The other legend about Lord Muruga

As per another mythology, On the full moon night, when the moon rises with the Krittika nakshatra in the month of the same name, people all over Tamil Nadu celebrate the birth of Murugan, Kartikeya, by lighting lamps, the Kartikai Deepam. The constellation that contains the star Krittika is the Pleiades cluster, named after the six women who bore and nursed Kartikeya. These six women, the wives of sages, were impregnated with Shiva’s semen after Agni dropped the seed in the river Ganga, and gave birth to six children. Parvati later merged all six children into one. The child’s name Aarumugan in Tamizh, literally the one with six faces, recollects this unusual birth. Krittika is part of the star cluster, the Pleiades’ because the sages, the husbands of the six women, upset by their wives delivering the child of Shiva, condemned these women to roam the skies. Yet, because they suckled the divine child, they were revered and immortalized. The six women and the child together make the seven brightest stars in ‘the most famous open star cluster in the sky.

Murugan as Skanda was also born to vanquish Shoorapadman(watch the video), a powerful asura devotee of Shiva. This faithful and passionate devotee of Shiva strove to earn favour by penance and prayer and ultimately won several powerful boon from Shiva, which made him practically immortal. He took advantage of this power to subjugate and harass the devas. Their petition led to the birth of Kumara Kartikeya.

Rituals during Karthigai Deepam festival
Kartikai is a festival marked by the lighting of lamps everywhere in south India, particularly in Tamil Nadu where the ancient deity Murugan holds sway powerfully. The lamps are metaphors for knowledge, victory and peace. Murugan, Kartikeya, was the Kumaraguru, the wise child who taught his father Shiva(check out the video here) the meaning of the pranava mantra ‘Om’ (Check out the temple here), and the sacred wisdom of this powerful syllable. Because of this, people light lamps on this day. The flame, a symbol of enlightenment and emancipation, is a show of faith to Murugan.

Earthen, fired clay lamps are filled with oil and wicks and arranged beautifully outside each house, around the terraces, and inside all the rooms.
This display is particularly spectacular in rural south India, especially Tamil Nadu, as people make elaborate kolams outside their houses (Check out this video on  Rangoli using Sieve), wear lovely clothes and light hundreds of lamps. A single street is thus aglitter with hundreds of little flickering orange points that glow in the dark and fade by dawn. Some people light lamps for three days: on the day before the full moon during the Bharani naksharam, on Paurnami Kartikai, and the day after the full moon with the Rohini nakshatram. Others light at least two lamps every day of the month.

Many people visit the temple, especially Murugan shrines like Swamimalai (video), Palani  (video), and Thiruchendur  (video), and light lamps there. They dance the karagam and carry a called a construction of bamboo frames, kaavadi, as a public display of their devotion co Murugan.
Girls celebrate Kartikai Deepam for the well-being of their siblings. Celebrating this festival is supposed to augur well for married life. The first Kartikai celebrated by a newly married couple is called Talai Kartikai in Tamil. The bride’s family gifts the girl with new lamps. Click here to see the different types of Lamps in the Market

Significance of the Neivedya

Some people believe that Mahabali Chakravarti surrendered to Vishnu on this day and this led to the neivedya offerings of beaten and puffed rice. The process of making beaten rice (avil) and puffed rice (nel pori) prevents the rice grains from sprouting. Drawing a symbolic parallel, the pori urundai delicacy made of the puffed rice becomes a symbol of moksha: the devotee attains oneness with god in this life and is not reborn, just as the puffed rice even if planted does not sprout.

Watch this space for more Karthigai deepam related recipes.