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Significance of Thaipusam

What is Thaipusam?

By AstroVedPublished about a year ago 5 min read
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Thaipusam is a festival that is eagerly awaited by Tamil Hindus in India and other parts of the world. Observed on the Pusam star day in the Tamil month of Thai, this festival is dedicated to Muruga, the son of Shiva and Parvati. Muruga is also the patron deity of Tamil Nadu; hence this is one of the major festivals in Tamil Nadu. It is believed that Parvati gave a divine weapon, the Vel, to Muruga, on this day. Muruga was the commander-in-chief of the gods who were waging a fight against the demon, Tarakasura, and his brothers. With the help of this Vel, Muruga killed the demons. So the festival celebrates the victory of good over evil.

Significance of Thaipusam

The Vel that Parvati gave to Murugan is a symbol of purification. Legend says that she gave him the Vel to destroy 3 asuras or demons – Tarakasura, Surapadman, and Singamugan. They represent negative forces like hatred, greed, and arrogance. With the help of the Vel, which signifies light and wisdom, Murugan vanquished the three demons and restored peace to Heaven and earth. The Vel, therefore, signifies the protecting and purifying force of Murugan. On Thaipusam, devotees seek Murugan’s blessings to remove the burden of bad karma and make life more positive. The festival is marked by acts of penance, like carrying the Kavadi.

What is Kavadi?

During Thaipusam, carrying Kavadi to Murugan temples is very auspicious, as it brings peace and good luck. There is a mythological story behind this practice. It talks about how Murugan tested the determination and duty of a disciple towards his Guru. The disciple in question is Idumban, a demon and the disciple of Sage Agasthya.

Shiva asked Sage Agastya to take two hills, Sivagiri and Saktigiri, and place them in the South. The sage told his disciple Idumban to carry them.

Idumban tied the hills on either end of a pole and placed the pole on his shoulders. Then he began his journey south. When he reached the place now known as Palani, he felt tired and set the hills down so that he could rest for a while. After a while, when he tried to continue his journey, he found that he could not lift the hills. Then he saw a youth wearing only a loin cloth and holding a staff standing on top of the hill. He had the radiance of a thousand suns.

The youth said that the hills belonged to him. A fight ensued, and the youth killed Idumban. The youth was none other than Murugan. Sage Agastya and Idumban’s wife, Idumbi, requested Murugan to restore Idumban to life. When Murugan did so, Idumban wanted to remain forever at the gate of Murugan’s shrine. So Murugan appointed him as the official gatekeeper at his temple and said that all those who worshipped Murugan with a Kavadi would acknowledge Idumban first.

The Kavadi symbolizes the devotee’s burdens, like the two hills carried by Idumban. Murugan will reduce the burdens in the devotee’s life if he carries the Kavadi.

Legends about Thaipusam

Thaipusam commemorates two key events in Hindu mythology. On this day, Murugan received the "Vel" from Goddess Parvathi. Also, on this day, Shiva danced the "Ananda Tandava" and showed his Nataraja form to the Gods, sages, and priests who had assembled at his temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. Both Shiva and Murugan temples celebrate Thaipusam. But it is known more as a Murugan festival. It usually falls on the last week of January or the beginning of February.

Rituals and Celebrations

Devotees offer yellow or orange colored fruits and flowers to Muruga on this day, as they are his favorite colors. They also carry milk, water, fruits, and flowers on pots or pails hung from a wooden or bamboo yoke on their shoulders and walk to various Murugan temples to offer them to the deity. This wooden or bamboo structure is the Kavadi. It is covered with cloth and decorated with peacock feathers. The peacock is Murugan’s vehicle.

Kavadi bearers have to practice abstinence for 48 days, avoiding all luxuries and desire. They observe fast and follow a strict vegetarian diet. This allows the devotees to purify themselves for their encounter with the Divine.

They also seem to enter into a trance, a divine state called 'arul vaku', as the deity’s energies flow through them. This enables them to pierce their flesh with hooks, spears, and vels without feeling any pain, and sometimes, there is no bleeding either.

On Thaipusam day, Kavadi bearers’ heads are shaved, and they take a purifying bath. Then they embark on a Padayatra (pilgrimage by foot) to the Murugan temple, bearing offerings, thus fulfilling the vows they had taken.

The simplest Kavadi comprises a short wooden pole surmounted by a wooden arch. They fix pictures or idols of Murugan or other deities to the arch. They also use peacock feathers to decorate it, and a small pot of milk is attached to each end of the pole.

More elaborate Thaipusam Kavadis are the Alagu and Ratha Kavadi. These Kavadis are fixed on a bearer’s body using long and sharp rods or by chains and small hooks. The Kavadi bearer carries a gift for God, and the entire Kavadi is like a shrine itself.

Paal Kudam (Milk Offering) is another popular offering for Thaipusam. It involves carrying paal (milk) in a kudam (vessel in the form of a pot). The pot is usually kept and carried on the head and is offered to Murugan. The temple priest uses the milk to perform Paal Abishekam.

thai poosam 2023 is on February 5, Sunday. It is celebrated grandly in Muruga temples, including the 6 Arupadaiveedus or abodes of Muruga in Tamil Nadu.

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About the Creator

AstroVed

AstroVed is a #1 online astrology and remedies portal whose focus is to merge the technologies of the ancient traditions with our modern science. https://www.astroved.com/

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