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Karthikai Deepam, Thiruvannamalai
The Deepam festival or the Karthigai Deepam of Thiruvannamali is the most popular festival celebrated in Thiruvannamalai, a Panchabootha Sthalam of Lord Shiva. It is to commemorate the emergence of Shiva in the form of a column of fire to banish the ignorance of Brahma and Vishnu who tried in vain to locate the origin and the end of the glowing brilliance.
Karthikai Deepam festival falls on the tenth day of the Brahmotsava in the month of Karthikai (Nov 15th to Dec 15th). It is a celebration for ten long days with the Bharani Deepam preceding it. On the day of the Bharani Deepam, a lamp is lit in the sanctum of the temple followed by a sacrifice of fire in front of the shrine of the Sun God, Surya. The flame from the sacrificial fire is used to light five other lamps while a group of fishermen guard a portion of this flame in a earthen container to the hill top where the beacon is lit.
It is indeed too much even for an ardent heart to quell the out pour of grace that overflows and overwhelms during the the long session of the devotional celebrations. The Pancha Murthys which constitute Annamalaiyar, Unnamulai amman, Ganesh, Subhramanya and Chadikeshwar except Annamalayar or Arunachaleshwara, make their appearance from the third prakaram of the temple.
The crowd await the emergence of the Ardhanaareeshwara, the form of Lord Shiva conjoined with Parvati with anticipating eagerness. The form that speaks the highest Vedic truth in silence of the merging of the Prakriti, the creative energy with Purusha, the energy from even which the creative energy sprang forth. In short, losing the individual identity with the infinite.
The cosmic dancer as Ardhanareeshwara comes dancing gaily engulfing the crowd with waves of bliss. The flame from the arati that is swayed up and down the deity increases the devotional fervour of the devotees announcing soonest possibility of the occurrence of the forthcoming climax, the lighting of the beacon atop the hill.
The Deepam consisting of a huge cauldron which is capable of holding about 2000 litres of ghee and several meters of cloth used for the wick is then lit with the unanimous outburst of devotion from the heart escapes through the lips in a cry of praise to the Lord. The sanctum is then closed reminding one of the Lord's presence in the form of the burning flame on top of the hill until the next day.The crowd disperses in different directions, yet carrying the essence of the same blissful experience.
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