Deepam in Arunachala

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Deepam in Arunachala

 

The Deepam Festival, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, South India

Excerpted from Chapter 11 (Festivals) of Ramana’s Arunachala: Ocean of Grace

Divine by “Sri Bhagavan’s Devotees”, first published 1996, reprinted 1998, Sri

Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai - 606 603, South India

 

 

We now come to the oldest festival of South India, which is also the most

elaborate and most important—Karthigai Deepam. This festival falls in the Tamil

month of Kartigai when the star Krithika is on the ascendant and usually occurs

on a full moon day. Before we describe the festival, let us take a glimpse into

its antiquity. In ancient Tamil literature, the oldest available work

Tolkappiyam gives in concise verse form rules for Tamil grammar as well as other

topics. Scholars agree that this work dates back to 2000 or 2500 BC. In one of

the formulae Tolkapiyar in his treatise uses the phrase “like the lamp’s flame

pointing upwards.” This phrase, says one of the commentators, refers to the

beacon lit on the Annamalai Hill, which burns brightly without flickering in the

wind, and flares up towards the sky. In another epic Jeevakachintamani written

by a Jain poet, Thiruthakka Thevar, the poet describes how people celebrated the

Karthikai Deepam festival. In the other ancient Tamil

literature of the Sangam period, the Karthikai Deepam festival is described

vividly. In Karnarpadu, the poet in one of the stanzas, describes how in the

Tamil month of Karthikai during the time of the Krithika star, the lamps lit by

people blossomed on earth, bringing rain in its wake. In another Tamil work, the

Kalavazhi Narpadu dating back to the third Sangam period (after 1000 B.C) the

poet says, “In the battle the blood oozing out from the dead soldiers’ bodies is

like the red colored flame of the lamps lit during Karthikai Deepam festival”.

In another Sangam work, Pazhamozhi, in stanzas ending in proverbs, one stanza

ends with this phrase, “like the beacon on the Hill.”

This is a clear reference to the beacon lit on the holy Hill of Arunachala. In

Sambandar’s Tevaram, while trying to raise a young girl Poompavai from the dead,

he asks with deep feeling, “O Poompavai, have you gone without seeing the

ancient Karthikai festival?” Another song in Tevaram says that the Lord is

verily the deepam (lit during the Karthikai festival). There is a work on

Karthikai Deepam consisting of a hundred stanzas, praising the festival. When

Muruganar asked Bhagavan Ramana about the significance of the Karthikai Deepam

festival, Bhagavan composed a stanza of four lines in which he says, “The true

significance of the Karthikai Deepam festival is that it turns the intellect

inwards and having fixed it in the Heart merges it with the indweller of the

Heart”.

 

The Deepam festival is not confined to the temple, but involves the whole

town. Once a small village, Tiruvannamalai has now grown into a small city. Yet

the charm and beauty of the Deepam festival will remain the same, as it was

hundreds of years ago. In spite of modernity and the deteriorating quality of

human life, the attraction of the Deepam festival will remain perennial.

The practices, rituals and ceremonies connected with the Deepam festival have

endured for centuries. The routine and customary nature of the preparations made

by the temple and civic authorities to gear the town and the temple premises to

receive visitors do not seem dull to the devotee of Arunachala. He might have

witnessed the same preparations every year. But for him, every year it is a new

experience. He notes with keen interest all the preparations. Changes are made

keeping in mind the necessities of modern times. The old order gives way to the

new, yet the devotion of the people has remained the same. In fact it has

increased manifold, for amidst such noise and bustle, the devotee is able to

inwardly experience peace and tranquility, which one can obtain only in the

environs of Arunachala.

The city prepares itself to receive lakhs of visitors on the Deepam day. In

the temple the preparation for the festival begins with the Pandalkal Muhurtham,

a simple ceremony held to mark the commencement of the various arrangements.

Invitations are printed and distributed and arrangements for flowers, erection

of thatched sheds for shops, and for providing resting places for the pilgrims

are made. With great joy the devotee watches his beloved Lord’s premises being

cleaned. Voluntarily, devotees take upon themselves the task of removing the

cobwebs and washing the enclosures around the sanctum sanctorum. Many of the

gold and silver ornaments and vessels are polished under the watchful eyes of

the temple authorities. The copper cauldron in which the deepam is lit is taken

out and cleaned. It gives the devotee great pleasure to see the roads,

particularly the four main streets running round the temple being repaired. The

giripradakshina road is also well lit.

The true significance of all religious festivals is that the Supreme Being

makes His presence felt during that time. The ardent devotion exhibited by

devotees during the festival makes us feel His vibrant presence. During the

observance of Mahasivaratri and the Karthigai Deepam festival, Arunachala opens

up the heart of His beloved ones and reveals Himself as the Supreme Being.

Shining as “I, I”, the sole occupant seated in the centre of the Heart’s cave of

his devotees, He supervises the proceedings of the entire festival.

On the first three days of the sixteen-day festival the various deities are

propitiated, while the last three days form a sort of epilogue to the lighting

of the deepam atop the Hill. Thus the main festival is of ten days’ duration

only. The first day begins with the hoisting of the flag, which ceremoniously

ushers in the ten-day festival. Called dwajarohanam, it marks the beginning of

any temple festival. But the dwajarohanam of the Karthigai Deepam festival is

attended by large crowds. To describe the proceedings of the ten-day festival,

it is best to see it through the eyes of the devotee who possesses unsurpassing

love and devotion for Arunachala. He is physically present whenever possible at

each abhisheka, pooja, procession, vehicle decoration etc. For the first day

festival, that is at the dwajarohanam, which is usually early in the morning, he

is there well before the event. He becomes absorbed in his Lord when the priests

perform the abhishekam and decorate Him as if He

were their beloved child. The devoted soul settles himself in a secluded

corner, which is also a vantage point (known only to himself) where his eyes and

ears do not miss anything. He sees the temple towers, the Hill, and the pouring

in of the faithful into the vast courtyard, first in twos and threes, then in

tens and later in hundreds.

The decorated Lord with His entourage is brought out from the temple and

placed in front of the flagpole from where He can witness the proceedings. At

the appointed time the flag is hoisted to the Vedic chanting of the priests

accompanied by drums, cymbals etc. The priests then invite all the sacred

rivers, all the deities, and all rishis to come and witness this occasion. After

the dwajarohanam ceremony is over, the Lord is taken and installed in the vast

hall on the southern side where He will remain during the following days giving

darshan to the vast multitude of His children. From this event onwards a sublime

frenzy possesses the beloved devotee. For him the next ten days pass by like a

dream because he is in that state where food, sleep and other mundane activities

matter little.

The rapid succession of events in each day’s festival completely engrosses

him. Arunachala has His ardent devotee in His tentacles. The devotee knows not

the passing of days and nights. He visits the temple many times a day, listens

intently to the Vedic chanting, watches the procession of idols and the

deepardhana. The precision, beauty and grace with which each idol is mounted

atop the vehicle by the bearers captures his heart. Particularly on the night of

the fifth day, the Lord with His consort is taken on his mount, the Rishaba (the

bull) made of silver. Although it is repeated annually, the faithful gather in

front of the mantapam to watch with great wonder the beautifully decorated Lord

taken atop the Rishaba of majestic height and installed there with perfect

coordination among the front side and rear side bearers of the palanquin. The

eighth day festival is the day of the Maha Ratham (great chariot car) when Lord

Arunachala and Goddess Unnamalai are taken round the main

streets along with the other deities each in their own chariot. The smaller

ones, that is, of Ganesha and Subramanya are taken in procession first while the

imposing and majestic chariot of the Lord is slowly hauled out at the appointed

time from its usual place by thousands of men and women who have flocked just to

participate in drawing their dear Annamalayar’s ratham.

Two long chains made of iron links are connected to the chariot. Carpenters

use wooden wedges as stoppers to check the speed on the downward slope as well

as to stop the ratham. The signal is given to lift the chain and the devotees

pick up the chain. The men hold one side of the chain and the ladies the other.

When the wedges are removed and the lever is applied at the back of the huge

wheel to give the initial momentum, the second signal is given from the chariot.

At once men and women with great enthusiasm and cheering in unison “Hail to

Annamalayar”, draw the chariot with all their might. Slowly inch by inch the

Lord’s chariot moves and as the pull increases it gathers momentum. The sight of

the huge chariot decorated fully with festoons, plantain stems and mango leaves,

with Arunachala looking down graciously upon his children who have gathered

there to pay their homage to their Father and Mother, charms all hearts.

Particularly when the chariot is on the western street, it is

evening time. The golden rays of the winter sun peep through the peaks of

Arunachala Hill and bathe the crowd. The Hill on one side, the temple tower on

the other and the Lord majestically riding the great chariot is a sight fit for

the gods.

The tenth day festival marks the climax of the devotion, which is dormant in

the people’s hearts. Their devotion triggered by the hoisting of the flag and

increasing in intensity day by day, finally reaches its zenith on the tenth day,

the day of the great Deepam. In the morning one can witness the Bharani Deepam

as a prelude to the Maha Deepam or Karthikati Deepam. One can see people from

all walks of life, from almost all the cities in the State, some from other

parts of India and yet a few from abroad, pouring into this small town. It is

heartening to see that whatever the differences in language, culture or

attitudes, they all come out of extreme love and devotion for Arunachala; to

witness the jyoti that the Lord will reveal atop the Holy hill in answer to the

prayers of the gods.

On the previous night, the temple premises are cleared by the people to

prepare the temple for the Bharani Deepam. But a few regular devotees hide in

niches or take shelter in one of the rooms within the temple. They man-age to

have bath in the middle of the night and enter the temple and sit at a place

from where they can watch the abishekam, decoration etc. At about two in the

morning, the usual ceremony begins. Then the havan (yagna) starts at the

Mahamantapam (hall adjacent to the sanctum sanctorum) while the abishekam to

Lord Arunachala commences. As the abishekam is performed with oil, herbal

powders, turmeric, fruits, milk, curd, tender coconut, lime juice, rice,

vibhuti, sandalwood paste and gold, the whole temple becomes filled with

devotees. There is a sea of humanity to witness this prelude to the Karthigai

Deepam.

The floral decoration is done for the gold bedecked Lord. The curtain is then

drawn back. The devotees with their breath indrawn have the first darshan of

their Lord. He dazzles in all His splendorous glory. After the puja, aarati is

shown. The priest lights the huge chunk of camphor and waves it slowly up and

down around the Lord in a circular motion. The twin bells peal forth, the drums

beat and there is a sudden, spontaneous burst of thousands of voices,

“Annamalayarukku Arohara”. The refrain is taken up by others outside who hail

their beloved Lord as if possessed. The aarati is brought out and shown to the

five lamps lit on the earthen plates for which yagna was performed.

The significance of Bharani Deepam is that the universal Lord manifests as the

five elements and during the evening He again becomes the One Entity and shines

as tejolinga when the deepam is lit atop the Hill. (Bharani is one of the 27

stellar constellations preceding Kritika in Hindu astronomical lore). The

earthen pot lamps are taken in procession around the temple. A fire torch is lit

from these lamps and taken to the top of the Hill. A copper cauldron is kept

ready on the summit filled with ghee, camphor and wick.

From morning till noon thousands throng the temple to have a glimpse of

Annamalayar inside the sanctum sanctorum. At noon the deities are brought and

installed at a small mantapam in front of the flag post. At about two in the

afternoon devotees are let in. As soon as the gate is opened, they rush forth to

choose a vantage point. In the temple bhajan singing goes on during the rest of

the evening. Lakhs perform giripradakshina.

As the winter sun sinks below the horizon a hushed silence slowly pervades the

whole atmosphere both within and outside the temple. Away from the temple on the

streets, atop the houses, people intently gaze at the summit of Arunachala

holding their breath for the great event to happen.

At Sri Ramanasramam there is a gathering of worshippers. They sit around the

portrait of Sri Bhagavan placed on the reclined chair on which He used to sit

during His bodily life time. His stick and kamandalu (small water pot) are kept

nearby. A small cauldron filled with ghee is placed in front of His portrait.

The devotees sit around this chair and at the appointed hour all eyes are

riveted at the top of the Hill. As time slowly inches towards six, a deep and

eloquent silence slowly settles. There is stillness everywhere.

Exactly at 6 p.m. in the temple, aarati is shown to the Lord and a thundering

blast of crackers signals to the men on the top of the Hill to light the beacon.

As the moon rises in the eastern sky, the first flame of the beacon bursts forth

in the clear sky stirring emotions of ecstasy and devotion. Thousands of voices

hail in unison, “Hail to Annamalayar”. Even the heretic and unemotional

spectators are awed and moved by the sight. The beacon burning brightly, the

emotional hailing of the devotees filling the air, and the full moon spreading

its rays on the Hill, all create a magical spell and the vibrant presence of the

Lord is powerfully felt in the innermost hearts of His devotees.

At Sri Ramanasramain the inmates and devotees, as soon as they sight the

beacon commence singing the melodious Aksharamanamalai (Marital Garland of

Letters). The small beacon kept in front of 13hagavan’s portrait is

simultaneously lit. Here is an account of it by Smt. Suri Nagamma in her Letters

from Sri Ramanasramam:

In the afternoon from 3 0’ clock onwards the devotees started making

preparations for the festival. At the asramam the floor was decorated in lime

and rice powder, floral designs, and mango leaf festoons. On such occasions the

crowds which come to town for this festival usually visit the asramam in the

morning as they go round the Hill; whereas in the evening it is mostly the

Asramites who are present at the asramam celebrations…

On this evening when Bhagavan went out the attendant placed his couch in the

open space facing the summit. Opposite the couch a large shallow iron pan was

placed on a high stool, ghee poured into it and a wick placed in the centre. We

then sat in rows, the men on Bhagavan’s right and the women on His left. The

space in front of Bhagavan was filled not only with baskets of flowers but also

with vessels of all sorts of sweet-meats and other preparations. When the ghee

brought by the devotees was poured into the pan for kindling the light, the pan

was overflowing. Camphor was then placed on the wick. The fragrance from the

lighted incense sticks spread on all sides and created a holy atmosphere.

Bhagavan sat lovingly looking at all the devotees and related to those near Him

the significance of the festival of lights. He also pointed out the exact place

where the light was to be kindled at the top. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the

lighting of the sacred beacon on the hill top. While

His gaze was concentrated on the summit of the hill, ours was concentrated on

His divine face for it was just a reflection of Arunachala. With the firing of

crackers at the temple, the light on the Hill top appeared. Immediately the

Akhanda Jyothi (perennial light) opposite Bhagavan was lighted. The Brahmins

rose and chanted the mantra, “Na karmana na prajaya dhanena” and lit the

camphor. After Bhagavan had partaken of a little fruit and some sweet-meats the

rest were distributed amongst the devotees. Immediately after that the devotees

divided them-selves into two groups, singing the hymn Aksharamanamalai. After

that, the five stanzas beginning with “Karunapurana Sudhabhde” in Sanskrit and

its equivalent in Tamil were recited. Bhagavan sat resting His cheek on His

hand, His characteristic pose. His face appeared as though mirroring His

self-illumination, what with His silence and His profound thought reflected on

it. The moon rose in the east and cast its light on Him as though

seeking its light from Him…

A comparison of the celebrations at Sri Ramanasramam, then and now, reveals

that things have not changed at all. In fact Sri Bhagavan, residing in the

hearts of His devotees watches His beloved Arunachala and the beacon.

After the beacon is lit the devotees start on their giri-pradakshina. Some

join the multitudes on the outer path, mind and gaze fixed on the beacon while

some, to be alone with Arunachala, take to the inner path. That night and

successive nights the beacon leaves a strange and everlasting impression on the

onlooker.

The deepam burns for seven, nine, eleven or thirteen days and at about six

every evening it flares up and burns throughout the night. During these few

nights it is a rare experience to perform giripradakshina. The deepam is visible

for miles around. There is a strange fascination about it. It keeps our sights

riveted on it. To walk around Arunachala slowly with our attention fixed on the

light, with-out thoughts, is a unique experience. Nothing exists in the universe

for the devotee, no stars, no moon, no sky, nothing except Arunachala. There is

just the holy beacon and Arunachala. The individual merges in both.

Probably to witness this phenomenon, Arunachala Himself goes around the hill

on the second day following the deepam, when Lords from both the temples on the

East and West come in a procession around the hill. They accept the worship due

to them from their devotees.

 

This then is the glorious festival of Deepam.

 

Om Namo Bhagavathe Sri Ramanaya

 

 

 

 

 

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