Article: The Significance of the month of Maarhazhi and the asterism of Thiruvaadhirai
- Dr. K. Thilagawathi
- Dec 18
- 11 min read
Prepared by Dr. K. Thilagawathi
The Month of Maarhazhi
A lot of thoughts arise in our minds as we hear the word Maarhazhi. The chill weather, early morning poojaa in temples, beautiful koalams, having at their centre, PiLLaiyaar made of turmeric or cow dung and adorned with aRuham pul and yellow flowers, and the ten-day Thiruvembaavai poojaa and Saint Maanickavasahar. The tenth day of Thiruvempaavai poojaa is known as Aaruthraa Dharisanam; on this day the asterism Thiruvaadhirai is in the ascendant (is said to be in full power) - all these come rolling in our minds as we think of the month of Maarhazhi. Apart from all these, there is one controversy which exists about this month. There is an opinion that Maarhazhi is an unfavourable month; in Tamil it is said to be peedai maadham (inauspicious month), the original word peedu (great / mighty) has been misconstrued over the period to become peedai. It is a peedu maadham. What makes the month of Maarhazhi so special that a special poojaa is conducted throughout the month at dusk, the early morning period between 4.00 a.m. to 6.00 a. m.?
The month, Maarhazhi, is equivalent to the celestial dusk (4.00 a.m. to 6.00 a.m.)
We would have heard at one time or the other, that our one year is equivalent to one day of the devas. We have twelve months and 24 hours; subsequently one month will be equivalent two hours. The month of Maarhazhi corresponds to the predawn hours from 4.00 a.m. to 6.00 a. m. of the devas. These two hours are said to be very auspicious. This period is looked upon as very suitable for meditation, prayers and studying; it is known as Bramma muhoorttham. When the celestials are performing the most auspicious prayers during their Bramma muhoorttham, we on earth do our special ‘Bramma muhoortham’ prayers throughout the entire ‘Bramma muhoorttham’ period of the devas (that is our month of Maarhazhi).
Maarhazhi Thiruvaadhirai
The asterism Thiruvaadhirai gets special acknowledgement in the month of Maarhazhi, because it is this asterism which coincides with the full moon day in the month of Maarhazhi. Moreover, Lord Siva’s asterism is said to be Thiruvaadhirai.
Apart from the extra early morning poojaa for the whole month of Maarhazhi, the most conspicuous festival for the month is the ten-day Thiruvempaavai poojaa. The asterism on the tenth day will be Thiruvaathirai. This asterism is acknowledged for its association with Lord Siva, both from the puranic and astronomical points of view.
(i)The Puranic Perspective
The sages in the forest, Tharuhaavanam, felt that it was due to karma that they went through all experiences in their life; therefore, they got themselves convinced that it was karma which led their life; subsequently, they overlooked the need to pray to Lord Siva. To relieve the sages from their wrong notion, Lord Siva came to them in the disguise of a mendicant (beggar); he was accompanied by Lord Vishnu who was disguised as Mohini. On seeing the mendicant, the wives of the sages were attracted toward his enchanting appearance; the sages were impressed by Mohini. Nevertheless, the very senior sages became angry on seeing all these; they wanted to destroy the mendicant. They did an abichaara homam (fire sacrifice done for evil purpose), through which they directed dangerous creatures like serpents, tiger, and elephant and, various weapons toward the mendicant; but all these were brought under control by the mendicant who wore them as clothes (tiger and elephant skins) and jewels (serpents and others). Finally, the sages used all their powers to the utmost and sent a demon, Muyalahan, and the mendicant jumped onto the demon, carried His one leg across and started dancing ferociously with His other foot stepping on the demon. On seeing the awe inspiring, super divinely dance, the sages realized their mistake and asked forgiveness; Lord Siva, seeing that the sages were in a state ‘qualified enough’ to be blessed by Him, graced that all their egoistic impurities join Muyalahan, the source of egotism (aanava malam), and stood on Muyalahan firmly that he trembled. This account is seen in the verses from 8 to 44 of chapter 3, Padhanjali Sarukkam of Koyil Puraanam. The day when this divine dance occurred is not clearly stated in the context mentioned. Quite a lot of websites mention that this dance took place on the day when the asterism of Thiruvaadhirai was in the ascendancy. Practically, all the websites do not seem to provide any source for saying that Siva danced in front of the sages at Thaaruhaavanam on the day of Thiruvathirai
Let us see two such instances:
“The Lord, who came to remove the (spiritual) ignorance of the sages, making the elephant directed toward Him as His clothe, and using the things such as udukku (udukkai?), fire and snake as His jewel, exhibited the vision of the Aruthraa Tharisanam as Nadrajah. This was on the day of ascendancy of the asterism, Thiruvaadhirai in the month of Maarhazhi. This is also supposed to be the day when He showed His dance to the sage, Vyakkira paadhar”
https://www.shakthionline.com/news/must-read/10898-nataraja-peruman-katchi-thandha-thiruvadirai.html
“Sivaperumaan Who is capable of destroying the world, killed the frenzied elephant and wrapped its skin around Him. Further, He used the things, sent toward Him by the sages from the sacrificial fire, as His jewel. Subsequently, He stepped onto Muyalahan with His left leg, and, carrying His right leg He did the thaandavam dance; at that moment He appeared as a reddish column of fire.”
“Lord Siva stood as a reddish flame on the day when the asterism Thiruvaadhirai was in its ascendancy in the month of Maarhazhi. The instance, when Lord Siva appeared in the dancing form as Nadarajah, is celebrated as the Aaruthraa Tharisanam.”
According to the second citation, Lord Siva is said to have been appearing as a reddish column of fire when He ferociously danced at Thaaruhaavanam; but when the sages realized their mistake and asked for forgiveness, Lord Siva freed them from egotism and He started performing the blissful dance (aanandha thaandavam). As we will be seeing later in this article, the asterism Thiruvaadhirai is compared to the asterism, Betelgeuse which is a prominent star in the constellation of the Orion. Betelgeuse is said to be reddish in colour. Therefore, there is some rationale to belief that Lord Siva’s dance at the Tharuhaavanam would have taken place in the month of Maarhazhi when the asterism of Thiruvaadhirai was in its ascendancy; but from Koyil Puraanam, it is clear that the dance in the Tharuhaavanam was the one which inspired Sage Padhanjali to do his penance to achieve his yearning to see the dance of Lord Siva. Therefore, the dance at Thaaruhaavanam and the dance witnessed by the sages Viyaakkirapaadhar and Padhanjali took place on two different occasions. From Koyil Puraanam it is clear that Lord Siva danced for the sake of the two sages on the day of Thaippoosam.
(ii)The Astronomic Perspective
The following quotations (with some wee bit of adaptation) will help to convincingly convey this point.
The tenth day of ‘Maarhazhi Thrivempaavai poojaa’ is known as Aaruthraa tharisanam. Aaruthraa denotes the asterism of Thiruvaadhirai. This asterism is referred to as the reddish Betelgeuse or Alpha Orionis in English, and is generally associated with the wrathful aspect of Lord Siva. “The constellation of Orion and surrounding stars is bathed in the soft glow of the full moon when it (the constellation) is high in the sky at Chidambaram. A thousand of years ago, devoid of the present smog and the light flares, the stars must have been even brighter in the tropical night sky” (http://creative.sulekha.com/orion-s-cosmic-wonders-in-shiva-s-chidambaram_101565_blog). This citation conveys the fact that the reddish Betelgeuse star is seen high in the sky above Chidhambaram during this festive occasion.
Another website says, “Called Betelgeuse in the West (a medieval Arabic name), it fascinates and consternates (=surprises) modern astronomers. Though it is one of the most studied of suns, it defies description, as it changes in brightness, size and even shape with rhythmic gusto. Scientists call Arudra “mysterious” and “elusive” in their published works, informally calling this massive orb “the dancing star”. Hindus might find the name apt – after all, Siva is Nataraja, King of Dance. Arudra is part of the constellation of Orion, shinning as the brightest red star in the sky. Because of its blazing choreography, there is no certainty about the latest calculations point to around 600 light-years. Siva’s star is colossal (= very large). For sake of comparison, if it were the size of a football stadium, Earth would be a spec of dust, and the Sun no larger than a mango.”
From the points conveyed by the citations above, we have a very interesting point to note! Being all pervading, eternal, all knowledgeable and inherently knowledgeable are some of the attributes of the Almighty, but He is seen in many forms with many names. We are made to understand by our sages that He assumes many forms with many names for our benefit. Not only we give Him so many names and forms, but we also assign an asterism or constellation to Him. Lord Muruhan is said to have a ‘birth star’ known as Visaaham; like-wise Thiruvaadhirai is associated with Lord Siva. From the citations above, we saw that the reddish star, Betelgeuse, more or less resembles the form of Nadarajah and ‘keeps changing in brightness, size and shape with a rhythmic gusto’ that the scientists informally call it ‘the dancing star’. Our Seers must have seen this sort of correspondence between the appearance of the reddish star of Betelgeuse and the form of Lord Nadarajah, and therefore associated the asterism Thiruvaadhirai with Lord Nadarajah.
Between the Puraanic perspective and Astronomic Perspective, the latter seems to be providing a more concrete reason for celebrating the Aruthraa Tharisanam.
The Thiruvempaavai Poojaa and Maanikavaasahar
Having seen the significance of the month of Maarhazhi, and of the asterism Thiruvaadhirai which is in the ascendence in Maarhazhi as it coincides with the full moon day, and the rationale, both from the puranic and scientific points of view, for considering the asterism Thiruvaadhirai to be auspicious for Lord Siva, let us divert our attention toward the ten-days Thiruvempaavai poojaa. Saint Maanikkavaasahar has sung a lot of his Thiruvaasaham padhihams which have as their theme the life style of the young girls living in Thiruvannaamalai. He adapted the songs they were singing during their activities and sang the Thiruvaasaham padhihams replacing the original themes with those devoted to the praise of Lord Siva. The Thiruvempaavai songs were sung during the whole month of Maarhazhi in the early mornings as they went on waking up their friends in the vicinity to go and have a bath and do their prayers with the objective of getting good life partners and also for the well-being of the country and people. These songs also depict the grace of our Lord. The last song depicts His eternity and the fivefold graceful functions while praising His Feet which are nothing but His grace. In Vaishnavism also the girls had the same practice. In Vaishnavism it is called Paavai Nonbu. Sri Andaal had been able to become the consort of Lord Vishnu by observing the Paavai Nonbu. In the Poompaavai padhiham (2:47), Saint Sambanthar sings “Aadhirai kaanaadheh poodhiyoh poompaavaay”. It becomes clear that the Paavai Nonbu and Thiruvempaavai Poojaa have been in practice for a very long time.
The important aspect to know about the Thiruvempaavai Poojaa is that Saint Maanikkavaasahar is offered special prayers along with Lord Siva in certain temples like Thiruvannaamalai. In Uttharakosamanggai, Maanikkavaashar is worshipped as the Utchavamoortthi and it is he who is taken on procession. Lord Siva joins in the procession only on the tenth day.
The month of Maarhazhi also contributes to the fact that Hinduism is a way of Life
Apart from these religious connotations, since the month of Maarhazhi coincides with December, most of the humanity is in a holiday spree, going on tours and having other kinds of family get-together programmes during this season. There will be some others who tend to stay indoors due to bad weather. The cold weather need not spare the people going on holiday trips and those who stay indoors because of excess cold. The Hindu religion has drawn up a religious agenda to encourage people to arise early in the morning despite the chilly weather and engage themselves in prayers, which would help them to stay safe from the negative effects of the bad weather. The agenda is drawn only for the month of Maarhazhi probably because this is considered as the coldest month of the Tamil calendar year. People have been mentioning about the ozone gas in relation to the early morning hours in Maarhazhi. Ozone molecule has three atoms of oxygen. It is in the earth’s atmosphere. A few citations from https://www.treehugger.com/the-good-and-bad-of-ozone-1204081 will be useful in understanding about how ozone can be helpful as well as harmful to us on earth:
“Ozone is created in the stratosphere (= the layer of earth’s atmosphere between about 10 to 50 kilometres above the surface the earth) when ultraviolet light from the sun splits an oxygen molecule into two single oxygen atoms. Each of those oxygen atoms then binds with an oxygen molecule to form an ozone molecule.”
“Small concentrations of ozone occur naturally in the stratosphere, which is part of the Earth’s upper atmosphere. At that level, ozone helps to protect life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the sun, particularly UVB radiation that has been linked to skin cancer and cataracts, can damage crops, and destroy some types of marine life.”
“Ozone is also found much nearer to the ground, in the troposphere, the lowest level of Earth’s atmosphere. Unlike the ozone that occurs naturally in the stratosphere, tropospheric ozone is man-made, an indirect result of air pollution created by automobile exhaust and emissions from factories and power plants.
When gasoline and coal are burned, nitrogen oxide gases (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) are released into the air. During the warm, sunny days of spring, summer, and early fall, NOx and VOC are more likely to combine with oxygen and form ozone. During those seasons, high concentrations of ozone are often formed during the heat of the afternoon and early evening (as a component of smog) and are likely to dissipate (= gradually become weaker) later in the evening as the air cools.”
“The man-made ozone that forms in the troposphere is extremely toxic and corrosive. People who inhale ozone during repeated exposure may permanently damage their lungs or suffer from respiratory infections. Ozone exposure may reduce lung function or aggravate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema or bronchitis. Ozone may also cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation or congestion.”
From the foregoing citations, we can see that there are two kinds of ozone: the one naturally created in the upper level of the atmosphere and the man-made ozone which is indirectly produced due to air pollution created by automobile exhaust and emissions from factories and power plants. The fourth para of the citation clarifies that high concentrations of ozone are often formed during the heat of the afternoon and early evening; this phenomenon especially takes place during the warm, sunny days of spring, summer and early fall (= autumn). From all these facts it is clear that man-made ozone is formed extensively when the weather is hot; hence, the man-made ozone can be generally expected to be less during early morning hours. In effect, it can be safely deduced that the early morning hours of the coldest month of Maarhazhi will be practically free from this ozone. When we go out to temples every early morning during the month of Maarhazhi, we get to breathe clean air which contributes to the enhancement of our health.
It can be concluded that by sincerely and strictly observing the religious practices assigned to us for the month of Maarhazhi, we have a lot of benefits to gain physically and spiritually, and therefore mentally!
The facts we have been seeing in this article confirm the fact that our ancient sages had acquired a vast, exhaustive knowledge of the Science of the entire Universe as a by-product of their primary pursuit of realizing the Supreme Power!