Prepared by Dr. K.Thilagawathi Puraanic Episodes Relating to Maasi Maham and Maamaanggam, auspicious to Lords Siva This is one of those festivals, which are celebrated on the day of the occurrence of the asterism which coincides with full moon in a particular month. In the month of Maasi (mid-February to mid-March) the full moon day co-occurs with the asterism, Maham. We shall see the Puraanic episode which mentions the reason for the significance of this day. According to “K

Prepared by Dr.K.Thilagawathi The word Sivaraatthiri Sivaraatthiri , consists of two words, namely Siva  and raatthiri ;. raatthiri  means night. In Sanskrit, the word Sivam has the meanings like goodness ( nanmai) , auspiciousness ( manggaLam)  and happiness ( inbam) . Hence, Sivaraatthiri is an auspicious night for Lord Siva; it is the night of bliss. On the occasion of Sivaraatthiri ,   being inspired by our devotion to Lord Siva, we fast the whole day and keep vigil at ni

Prepared by Dr.K.Thilagawathi The word, Thaippoosam. The word Thaippoosam is made up of two words, namely, Thai and Poosam. Thai is the tenth month of the Tamil calendar. Poosam is the eighth of the 27 natchatthirams in   Hindu astrology. The month of Thai  corresponds to the period between mid-January to mid-February. Significance of the natchatthiram, poosam, occurring in the month of Thai?  The first thing is that, the asterism that coincides with the full moon day in the

Prepared by: Dr. K. Thilagawathi Soorya Ponggal on the first day of the month of Thai  Significance of the first day of ‘Thai’ When the sun enters the zodiacal sign of Capricorn (mahara raasi), the tenth month of the Tamil Calendar, Thai, begins; hence the first day of the month of Thai is called Mahara Sangraandhi. It means ‘the movement (entry) of sun into the zodiacal sign of Capricorn’; ‘maharam’ is the Tamil equivalent of Capricorn. It is on this day, that the sun, which

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 Thir

Soul Inspiring Kaartthihai Theebam Prepared by Dr. K. Thilagawathi How is the date fixed for Kaartthihai Theebam? The major festival that Hindus, especially the Saivites, observe during the Tamil month of Kaartthihai  is  Kaartthihai viLakkeedu thiruvil(z)aa.  It is also known as Thirukkaartthihai viradham and  Kaartthihai theebam. How is the date for ‘the festival of lights’ decided?   As the name of the festival suggests, it is observed in the Tamil month of Kaartthihai (mi

Prepared by Dr. K. Thilagawathi Auspicious days for Muruhan The auspicious days for Muruhan: Fridays, the constellation of Kaarthihai and the Sashti thithi. As Lord Muruhan is the presiding deity for Mars, Tuesday is also auspicious to Him. Among these, it is the Sashti fast, especially the Skantha Sashti fast, that is discussed here. Sashti: Sashti is based on thithi. The moon grows layer by layer (kalai) after the new moon, becomes full, and then fades layer by layer to end

There are Four Navaraatthiris in a Year The term, Navaraatthiri, can be expected to be a very well-known and lovable term for almost all the Hindus. Non-hindus should also be quite familiar with it, all the more in the present digital era. The meaning of ‘Navaraatthiri’ is ‘nine nights; ‘nava’ is nine, and ‘raatthiri’ is night. It will be interesting to note that the ‘Navaraatthiri’ which is celebrated by most of us in the Tamil month of Purattaasi (mid-September to mid-Octob

What is meant by Mahaalaya Patcham? The word patcham in the phrase Mahaalaya Patcham, is equivalent to the word pakkam; it means ‘side’....

Kodimaram Pillaiyar at Sri Kandaswamy Temple ‘Sadhurtthi Thithi’ is Auspicious for Sri Vinaayahar ‘Sadhurtthi’ denotes the fourth phase...

Varalakshmi Pooja at Sri Kandaswamy Temple When the fast is observed? The word Varalakshmi denotes Goddess Lakshmi who gives all the...

The Kodiyaetram Festival Celebrated at Sri Kandaswamy Temple The Eve of the Festival: The festival starts from the eve of the kodiyaetram...

Kodiyaetram: An Introduction The meaning of the word, ‘kodiyaetram’, is the raising of (a) flag; ‘kodi’ means flag and ‘aetram’ means...

Photo by Ganapathy Kumar  on Unsplash Chitthiraa Paurnamai has more than one attribute to it Chitthiraa paurnami for the new Tamil Year,...

The Tamil New Year for the year 2025

Pangguni Utthiram

Article: Maasi Maham

Article: Maha Sivaratthiri

With heavy hearts, we have to inform you that Sivasri Vaitheeswara Sabaratna Kurukkal, Adinakartha of Urumpirai Sri Karunakara Pillaiyar...

As with all religious days, both the solar and lunar eclipses also have their Puranic episodes. Astronomically, the sun, the moon, and...