Article: Pangguni Utthiram

Manavaalak Kolam 2025

1.Pangguni Utthiram is popularly known as kalyaaNa viradham or thirumaNa viradham. It is said to be the day of divine weddings (kalyaaNam / thirumaNam =wedding).  Although it has a special name of its own, it is commonly referred to as Pangguni Utthiram, because the full moon day coincides with the asterism of Utthiram, in the Tamil month of Pangguni (mid-March to mid-April). It is a general feature of Hinduism to acknowledge the auspiciousness of the asterism with which the full moon day coincides in a particular month. This fact can be easily realized by recalling some of our fasts and festivals like Thai Poosam, Maasi Maham, and Vaihaasi Visaaham,  

Pangguni Utthiram is the day when Lord Siva married Devi Paarvathi; Lord Sundhareswarar married Devi Meenaatchi; Rama married Sitha. Many more divine weddings have been taking place on this day. Our Lord Muruhan is said to have married Theyvaanai Amman on this day. Thus, this day is generally referred to as the day of divine weddings. There seems to be some rational in referring to this day as the day of divine weddings. We also saw above that the full moon day of the month of Pangguni coincides with the asterism of Utthiram. The presiding deity of this asterism is the Sun; on the day of Paurnami, the moon gradually moves through the asterism, Utthiram. Therefore, it can be seen that the sun and moon are together on the day of Pangguni Utthiram. The Presiding Deities for the sun and moon are Lord Siva and Devi Paarvathi, respectively. This fact, makes it very clear that when the sun, with Lord Siva presiding over it, and the moon, with Devi Paarvathi presiding over it are together, it is ideal to look upon the day as the day for divine marriages.       

2.How do we observe this very auspicious day?

We observe it as any other fast. We eat light the previous day. On Pangguni Utthiram day we fast. We take only fruits for meals; if it is not possible, we take one proper meal in the afternoon. It is important to read about God or sing His praise throughout the day, as much as we can; by doing this we will enable ourselves to be thinking of God throughout the auspicious day.

Nowadays, it is more common to go to temples and partake in the special prayers, rather than observe it as a fast. As this day is a day of divine weddings, it is said that those who observe this fast will have a good married life; those who have some obstacles in getting married will be rid of those obstacles. It is good to do annadhaanam (feeding the devotees). Saint Sundharamoortthi Naayanaar’s wife fed all the devotees who came to Thiruvaaroor Temple to participate in the festive season of Pangguni Utthiram.

3.What is meant by the divine weddings?

When we talk about divine weddings, does that mean that our Gods are lustful? In reality there is  no gender for God. God is an all-pervading power. This all-pervading power is all-blissful. It takes forms to enable souls to be able to pray to the Supreme Power through these divine forms, and finally reach their salvation.

The One Supreme Power, which is in a blissful state forever, thinks of creating the world for the sake of helping the souls to rid of their impurities by means of prayers and austerities, and  eventually attain salvation.

Creation corresponds to reproduction in the context of this world. Reproduction is possible when a man and a woman get married. God, too, appears as Siva-Sakthi when He creates the world and performs other related graceful functions like sustenance, conferring grace and others. Two different forces are required for the world to function. A day and night make a day. There must be mountains and valleys for rivers to flow effectively. Our life is made up of two opposites like sorrow and pleasure, likes and dislikes, right and wrong.  God has to be displaying this twoness to ensure the smooth and effective functioning of the world. God is the directing force in all the souls. If God resumes His Yogic form, all souls will be in that state too; but, being in that state will not be beneficial until a soul has become qualified to become a yogi. A soul should acquire noble qualities to get the proper benefit of meditation. 

At this instance, it will be apt to see a verse, sung by saint Maanikkavaasahar, which sanctions the point given in the previous paragraph: 

Thenpaal uhanthaadum thillai chitrambalavan

Penpaal uhandhaan perumpitthan kaanedee

Penpaal uhandilanel pedhaay irunilatthor

Vinpaal yogu eydhi veeduvarkaan saazhaloh     (8: 12 – thirucchaazhal: 9)

Oh, my friend,

The Lord of Thillai Chitrambalam, Who dances facing the Southern direction, 

Relishes having a Woman on one half of His body – isn’t He a mad man? 

(Oh, you ignorant one)

If He did not have the Woman on one half of His body, the people in this wide world  

Will attain the heaven going into (fruitless) yogic state, thus wasting the purpose of their birth! 

Saazhaloh!

This verse clearly says, that if Lord Siva sits in His yogic state, His grace (Sakthi) will be withdrawn into Him. As a result, all the souls also will lose their inclination for the bodily desires and they will be made to go into a ‘yogic state’, although they are spiritually not ready for salvation; this means the purpose of their birth, which is meant to help them to work out their previous karma, by going through the effect of their karma, thus giving them a chance to reduce or nullify their karma. The souls are supposed to attain salvation only when they have no more karma attached to them. We work out our karma by the due experiences, good or bad, without reacting to them, respective positive or negative manner. In other words, we have to go through life’s experiences with the full awareness that they are merely the resultant effect of our previous karma, and therefore do not blame or praise anyone or anything for those experiences.     

Sakthi is nothing but the graceful power of God. The form of SivaSakthi is equivalent to that of an atom. Lord Siva is the nucleus (with protons and neutrons), and Sakthi is the electron. Lord Siva is the static energy; Sakthi is the kinetic energy. The nucleus of the atom maintains the structure of the atom while the electron, moving on a particular circle, partakes in the making of new things. Lord Siva performs His five-fold graceful function through His force of Grace. Once Lord Siva desires that the entire world ceases to function, He will be all by Himself, seated in a blissful meditation. Hence, divine weddings keep assuring the continued functioning of the world.

When we understand the scientific meaning of our festivals, we feel proud to be Hindus. Do we not?

Prepared by Dr. K.Thilagawathi