Theppotsavam, or Theppothsava or float festival, is a Hindu religious festival carried out in Hindu temples in parts of South India, mainly Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh during the month of Chitthirai or Aries . As a part of this festival, the principal idol of the temples is decorated and taken in procession through the tank of the temple.
Some of the temples where the float festival is celebrated are:
Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore and the 44th most populated city in India. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and has a documented history of more than 2500 years. It is often referred to as "Thoonga Nagaram", meaning "the city that never sleeps".
Mariamman, often abbreviated to Amman, is a Hindu goddess of rain, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India. Her festivals are held during the late summer/early autumn season of Ādi throughout Tamil Nadu and the Deccan region, the largest being the Ādi Thiruviḻa. Her worship mainly focuses on bringing rains and curing diseases like cholera, smallpox, and chicken pox. Mariamman is worshipped in accordance with local traditions such as Pidari or the Gramadevatai. She is considered as a guardian deity by many South Indian village-dwellers.
Thiruvarur also spelt as Tiruvarur is a town and municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja temple, weighing 360 tonnes (790,000 lb) and measuring 96 feet (29 m) tall is the largest temple chariot in India. Thiruvarur is the birthplace of Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, popularly known as the Trinity of Carnatic music of the 18th century CE. Thiruvarur Thiyagarajaa Swaamy temple is older than Tanjore big temple.
Temple cars are chariots that are used to carry representations of Hindu gods. The car is usually used on festival days, when many people pull the cart.
Kanaka Durga Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Goddess Kanaka Durga. The deity in this temple is also popularly referred as Kanaka Durga. The temple is located in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India on the Indrakeeladri Hills on the banks of Krishna River. Kaalika Purana, Durgaa Sapthashati and other Vedic literature have mentioned about Goddess Kanaka Durga on the Indrakeelaadri and have described the deity as Swayambhu, (self-manifested) in Triteeya Kalpa.
Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Thiruparankundram is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Murugan at Thiruparankundram, Tamilnadu, India. It is regarded as one of the "six Abodes of Murugan". The temple is built in rock-cut architecture and believed to have been built by the Pandyas during the 6th century. According to the legend. it is where Murugan slayed the demon Surapadman and married Deivayanai, the daughter of the king of heaven, Indra. Also, Murugan is said to have worshipped his father Shiva here as Parangirinathar.
Arulmigu Mariamman Temple, Samayapuram is an ancient Hindu temple in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India. The main deity, Samayapurathal or Mariamman, a form of supreme mother goddess Durga or Maha Kali or Aadi Shakthi, is made of sand and clay like many of the traditional Mariamman deities is considered as most powerful Goddess, and hence unlike many other Hindu deities there are no abhishekams conducted to the main deity, but instead the "abishekam" is done to the small stone statue in front of it.
The Paadal Petra Sthalam, also known as Tevara Sthalam, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Shaiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison are the 108 Vishnu temples glorified in the poems of the contemporary Vaishnava Alvars of Tamil Nadu, India.
Tamil Nadu has the largest tourism industry in India with a percentage share of 21.31% and 21.86% of domestic and foreign tourist visits in the country. According to the 2020 Ministry of Tourism report, the number of domestic arrivals was at 494.8 million making the state the second most popular tourist destination in the country, and foreign arrivals numbered 6.86 million, the highest in the country, making it the most popular state for tourism in the country.
The Thayumanavar Temple is a temple situated in the Rockfort complex in the city of Tiruchirappalli, India. Shiva is worshiped as Thayumanavar, and is represented by the lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Mattuvar Kuzhalammai. 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.
The flower festival or flower sprinkling festival is an important festival celebrated in the Samayapuram Mariamman temple near Tiruchirappalli, India. This festival is usually held in the Tamil month of Masi. During this festival, devotees throng the temple to sprinkle flowers on the idol of the Hindu goddess Mariamman. During this period, it is believed, that the goddess fasts for the welfare of her devotees for a period of 28 days. As a result, the ritual consecration of food at the temple does not take place.
T.Subbulapuram is a village in Andipatti Taluk in Theni District, Tamil Nadu State, India. It is located around 5 kilometres from the town of Andipatti, 20 kilometres from Theni, and 57 kilometres from Madurai.
Vandiyur Mariamman Temple is located in east of the temple city Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Mariamman, the Hindu Goddess of rain. it is situated near to river Vaigai at a distance of about 3 km from the Meenakshi Amman Temple. Temple has its huge pond Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam. Although Mariammam Shrine is the prime shrine, temple has pechiammam(Tamil:பேச்சியம்மன்) and vinayagar beside the pipal tree. Two dwarapalakis located on the entrance of Mariamman shrine
Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam is a temple tank located near to Vandiyur Mariamman Temple and situated at a distance of about 5 km from the Meenakshi Amman Temple. Literally, Teppakulam means temple pond mainly used for devotional festivals.
Kannaki Amman is the deified form of Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic Cilappatikāram. She is worshipped in parts of Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. As a goddess of chastity, she is venerated by Indian Tamils and Malayalis, Sri Lankan Tamil Shaivites, and also by the Sinhalese Buddhists as Pattini Deviyo. In regional Hindu tradition, her tale is interpreted as the story of Durga demanding justice after the death of her husband, Kovalan, who is identified as a form of Shiva.
Papanasanathar Temple in Papanasam, a village in Tirunelveli district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to Hindu god Shiva. It is located 60 km from Tirunelveli. Constructed in the Dravidian architecture, the temple has three precincts. Shiva is worshipped as Papanasanathar and his consort Parvathi as Ulagammai.
Anbil is a village in India's Tiruchirappalli district, close to Lalgudi, and situated on the banks of the Kollidam River.
Devendrakula Velalar is an agricultural community native to the southern, central and western districts of Tamil Nadu, India. The seven subcastes of Devendrakula Velalar are Devendra Kulathar, Kudumbar, Kadaiyar, Kaladi, Pallar, Pannadi and Vathiriyar.