| Kaveri Maha Pushkaram | |
|---|---|
 Kaveri river, Trichy | |
| Status | Celebrated |
| Genre | Hindu festivals |
| Frequency | every 12 years(144 years Maha Pushkaram) |
| Venue | List of Major Ghats |
| Location(s) | Kaveri River |
| Country | India |
| Most recent | 12–23 September 2017 |
| Next event | in 2161 |
| Area | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu |
| Activity | Holy river dip |
Kaveri Pushkaram is a festival of River Kaveri that normally occurs once in 12 years.
Mayiladuthurai (mayil-aadum-thurai which means “a place where peacock dances” ) is a town in Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu. The town is located at a distance of 281 km (175 mi) from the state capital Chennai. Mayiladuthurai is known for the Mayuranathaswami Temple, a prominent Shaivite shrine and Parimala Ranganathar Temple, one of the 108 Divya Desams.
Maha Pushkaram was celebrated with grandeur in Mayiladuthurai from 12 September – 24 September 2017. As the configuration and alignment of stars happen once in 144 years, the devotees throng the Thula ghat to have a holy dip. Veda Parayanam, Homam, Maha Yagnam, cultural activities such as music, traditional dances, spiritual discourses, Annadhanam, and pithru tharpanam are organized during festival days. A permanent tank with concrete flooring and one foot of sand amidst the river to hold water was set up. The Kanchi acharyas and other prominent Mutt heads have come to grace the occasion at Mayilduthurai. [1] [2]
The main event is at the Thula Kattam in Mayiladuthurai on the Cauvery, thousands of devotees sprinkled the holy water from the specially crafted tank readied as part of the Maha Pushkaram efforts. The Thula Kattam was renovated at a cost of ₹3 crore and the 12 sacred wells(built during medieval chola period) in the Thula Kattam also underwent a major revival. An idol of Kaveri matha was installed in the shores of river and poojas are being performed as part of this celebration
Early on day one, yagasala poojas were carried out at the Mangala Vinayakar shrine at the Vadapal Karai and Kanchi Acharyas Sri Jayendra Saraswathi and Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigals along with Dharmapuram and Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam pontiffs poured the sanctified waters at the yagasala on to River Cauvery.
The processional deities of Sri Mayuranatha Swamy, Sri Ayyarappar, Sri Kasi Viswanathar, Sri Vatharanyeswarar arrived at the banks of the Thula Kattam and soon after, abishekam was performed for the Astra Devars of those deities even as the Mutt heads took a holy dip to mark the commencement of the Cauvery Maha Pushkaram. The devotees followed the pontiffs in participating in the event.
Apart from Mayiladuthurai, the festival is held in Srirangam. [3] [4] It is also conducted along the course of the river at:
Mahamaham, also known as Mahamagham or Mamangam, is a Hindu festival celebrated every 12 years in the Mahamaham tank located in the city of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu in the south of India. This 20-acre square tank surrounded by Shiva mandapams is believed by Tamil Hindus to be ancient, and the holy confluence of nine Indian river goddesses: Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Kaveri, and Sarayu, states Diana Eck – a professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies. On the day of the Mahamaham festival, the river goddesses and Shiva gather here to rejuvenate their waters, according to a legend in the Periya Purana. The Hindus consider taking a pilgrimage and holy dip at the Mahamaham tirtha on the day of Mahamaham festival as sacred. The event attracts chariot processions, street fairs and classical dance performances in temple mandapas. The 12-year cycle Mahamaham festival in Tamil Nadu is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Magha, and is a symbolic equivalent of the Kumbh Mela.
Srirangam is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among the 108 Divya Desams, a group of Vishnu temples, it is famous for the Ranganathaswamy Temple, the largest temple complex in India and the biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world. Srirangam is also home to a significant population of Sri Vaishnavas.
Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi ShankaracharyaSwamigal was the 69th Shankaracharya Guru and head or pontiff (Pïțhādhipati) of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Subramanyam Mahadeva Iyer was nominated by his predecessor, Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, as his successor and was given the pontifical title Sri Jayendra Saraswathi on 22 March 1954.
Kumaran Kundram is a hillrock located at Chromepet, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. It houses an about 40-year-old temple dedicated to the Hindu God Murugan. The temple can be reached by road from Chromepet en route to Hasthinapuram. The presiding deity is Sri Swaminathaswamy. The presiding deity in Kumaran Kundram is believed to be equivalent to the one in Swamimalai and stands atop the hillock facing north. It can be reached by a flight of about 80 steps.
Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyavar was the 68th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Mahaperiyavar's discourses have been recorded in a Tamil book titled "Deivathin Kural".
Alagiya Manavalan, best known by his epithet Manavala Mamunigallit. 'The great saint, Manavalan' (1370–1450), was a Hindu theologian. He was a major proponent of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition in the 15th century in Tamilakam, disseminating it with the help of his eight disciples. The disciples of Manavalan established places of learning to teach the Vishishtadvaita philosophy in Tamilakam.
The Sri Ranganthaswamy temple in Shivanasamudra, Kollegala taluk, Chamarajanagara district, Karnataka, India is a temple dedicated to the Hindu God Ranganatha, a manifestation of Vishnu. While there are numerous Ranganatha temples in South India, and many of those are located along the banks of river Cauvery, there are three temples within the islands that are formed within the river itself. The temple is one of a such three major temples that are built on three different islands on the River Kaveri, the others being those at Srirangapatna and Srirangam.
Appakkudathaan Perumal Temple or Thirupper Nagar, is a Hindu temple located in Koviladi, a village 10 miles (16 km) from Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Vishnu and is one of the Divya Desams—the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints or Alvars. This temple is located along the banks of the Cauvery River and is one of the five Pancharanga Kshetrams located on the banks of the Cauvery River.
The Pancharanga Kshetrams or Pancharangams is a group of five sacred Hindu temples, dedicated to Ranganatha, a form of the deity Vishnu, on the banks of the Kaveri River. The five Pancharanga Kshetrams in the order of their successive locations, on the banks of the Kaveri River are:
The Sarangapani Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or Alvars. This temple is along Kaveri and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams.
Suryanar Kovil is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Hindu Sun-God, Surya, located in Suryanar Kovil, a village near the South Indian town of Kumbakonam Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu, India. The presiding deity is Suriyanar, the Sun and his consorts Ushadevi and Pratyusha Devi. The temple also has separate shrines for the other eight planetary deities. The temple is considered one of the nine Navagraha temples in Tamil Nadu. The temple is one of the few historic temples dedicated to Sun god and is also the only temple in Tamil Nadu which has shrines for all the planetary deities.
Tirunageswaram Naganathar Temple also known as Rahu Stalam is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Tirunageswaram, a village in the outskirts of Kumbakonam, a town in Tamil Nadu, India. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of the temples associated with the nine planet elements, the Navagraha Stalas, and specifically Rahu. Shiva is worshiped as Naganathar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Piraisoodi Amman. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th-century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
Prananadeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Thirumangalakudi in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Prananatheswarar, and is represented by the lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Mangala Nayagi. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil poet saints known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
Parimala Ranganathar Perumal Temples or Tiruindaloor is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Thiruvilandur of Mayiladuthurai, a town in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or the Alvars. This temple is along Kaveri and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams.
Theertham literally refers to water. In Hindu sacred literature, it is referred to as the physical holy water body associated with a temple or deity. As per Hindu religious belief, water is the principal purification mechanism. While external purification is believed to be through a dip in sacred water bodies, internal purification is through truthfulness. Most Hindu temples are associated with bodies of water, which are called Theertham. In Vishnu temples, devotees are offered a few drops of sacred water called Theertham.
The Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, also known as Arulmigu Sree Vanamamalai Totatri Perumal Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, in Vanamamalai or Totadrikshetram (Nanguneri), Tamil Nadu, India on the banks of Thamiraparani river. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams shrines dedicated to Vishnu. Vishnu is worshipped here as Vanamalai Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Varamanagi. The temple is believed to have been built by the Pandyas, with later contributions from Vijayanagara kings and Madurai Nayaks. The temple covers an area of 5 acres (20,000 m2) and has a five-tiered temple tower.
Bodhendra Saraswathi was a 17th-century Hindu pontiff and the 59th Jagathguru (head) of the Kanchi matha, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. He spent his later life in Govindapuram.
Madurai Adheenam is the oldest Saivite adheenam, a form of Hindu monastery, in South India. It was established more than 1,300 years ago, and is said to have been rejuvenated by Thirugnana Sambandar. It is located near the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, one of the most important Shiva–Shakti shrines. It is an active centre of Saiva Siddhanta philosophy.
Godavari Maha Pushkaram was a Hindu festival held from 14 July to 25 July 2015. This festival occurs once every 144 years, corresponding to the 12th recurrence of the 12-year Godavari Pushkaram cycle.
Nine Grahas Temples in Tamil Nadu is a set of nine Hindu temples, each dedicated to one of the nine planetary deities, the Navagraham in various places around the South Indian towns of Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, India. The presiding deity in most of the temples is Shiva, with a shrine dedicated to the planetary deity. Leaving Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple which is located in Karaikkal, all the other temples are located in Tamil Nadu.
