In Hindu iconography, positive aspects of the vahana (vehicle) are emblematic of the Deity that it carries. In this procession as well as the Lord having the horse as his vahana, each of the panchmoorthies also carry a whip in their hand.
The main characteristic of the horse is its loyalty, industriousness and swiftness. It is symbolic of energy and effort and also symbolises the air or prana which runs through the channels of the body and is the vehicle of the mind. That means, with God as driver, we have the possibility of controlling the mind and wind and guide it towards any direction and at any speed that we wish. The neigh of a horse is also symbolic of the power to awaken the sleepy mind for the practice of sadhana and righteousness.
In this post, I am posting below the alangarams of each of the panchamoorthies because they are just so lovely. Especially the alangarams of the Goddess Parashakti and Lord Murugan.
In this post, I am posting below the alangarams of each of the panchamoorthies because they are just so lovely. Especially the alangarams of the Goddess Parashakti and Lord Murugan.
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| Alangaram of Lord Vinayaka |
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| Alangaram of Lord Murugan (with both wives) |
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| Alangaram of Lord Arunachaleswarar with whip in hand |
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| Alangaram of Goddess Parakshakti |
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| Alangaram of Chandikeswarar |
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| Panchamoorthies giving darshan to devotees in front of the Alankaram Mandapam |
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| Lord Arunachaleswarar mounted on his Big Horse |
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| Procession of the panchamoorthies on the mada veedhi (perimeter streets) of Arunachaleswarar Temple |
The alangarams of Goddess and Murugan are wonderful. Thanks for posting. Am following the Deepam Festival each day through this blog. Feels like being there.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photographs and good information. Well done Madam.
ReplyDeleteDid you actually stay up for these events? I know one year they went up till 1 a.m. That is really late for Tiruvannamalai
ReplyDeleteI am situated in the countryside and although I have wonderful darshan of Arunachala am quite a distance from the Temple and town. So no this year I didn't personally attend any of the functions. However work closely with two photographs so have been able to supply good pictorial reports of the whole Festival.
ReplyDeleteThis year because of the death of Jayalalitha the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, processions started and finished earlier than usual -- in a bid to keep things calm. So actually (apart from the 2 day storm we had recently) all went off very smoothly.
Amazing thank you. Were the Girivalam crowds the same as in previous years. and
ReplyDeletedoes sweet Rukku that she has a celebrity following thanks to this blog :-)
The crowds were much smaller this year due to the "monetisation" programme going on currently in India . . . so lots of people just didn't have the money to come. Then there was the death of Chief Minister Jayalalitha and some were concerned there might be an "energetic response" to her death . . . so decided to stay home.
ReplyDeleteAs to Rukku . . . well she has always been a celebrity to me. She is looking a tired and thin nowadays so keeping my fingers crossed that the January elephant rejuvenation camp is not cancelled. Poor thing . . . she needs to be with her own kind. What she is living now is absolutely no life for such a one as her to live.