Panchaka is a Hindu festival; the last five days of the month of Kartika are traditionally known as the Bhishma Panchaka or the Vaka Panchaka. [1] According to the epic poem Jagamohana Ramayana, written by Balarama Dasa, it is said that if one is capable, one should fast from certain foods on the Bhishma Panchaka for the pleasure of the Vishnu. The Padma Purana say that one pleases Vishnu and makes spiritual advancement.
Devotees may offer the following offerings to lord Vishnu: lotus flowers, Bengal quince leaves, sandalwood paste, jasmine flowers and malati flowers.
The main temple at Puri becomes crowded as many people await various alankara[ definition needed ] of deities. Alankara like Dalakia vesha, Adakia Vesha, Laksmi Nrusingha Vesha, Trivikrama Vesha[ clarification needed ] and finally on the day of Kartik Purnima, the lord is decorated in Rajarajeswara Vesha[ definition needed ], which draws over 100,000 people. More prasad (food offerings) are made in the temple to cope with the demand from Havishya vratis[ what language is this? ] (widows staying for the month-long Kartika vrata in Puri).
Parashurama, also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the Chiranjeevis (Immortals), who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to be the guru of Vishnu's tenth and last incarnation, Kalki.
Jagannatha is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, Purushottama, and the Para Brahman. To most Vaishnava Hindus, particularly the Krishnaites, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna, or Vishnu, sometimes as the avatar of Krishna or Vishnu. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.
Kartika Deepam is a festival of lights that is observed mainly by Hindu Tamils, and also by adherents in the regions of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Sri Lanka. Celebrated in Tamilakam since the ancient period, the festival is held on the full moon day of the Kartika (கார