Karthigai Deepam (which is also known as Karthigai Brahmotsavam Festival) will be celebrated this year at Arunachala on Friday, November 19, 2021. This grand festival is inaugurated two months previously with an event of the planting of the Panthakal pole. In 2021 this occurred on Thursday, September 16, 2021.
The Panthakal pole was kept near the shrine of Lord Sambandha Vinayagar where Abhishekham was performed. The panthakal was then dressed with a special cloth and garlands and planted near the front of the Raja Gopuram, the principal eastern doorway of Arunachaleswarar Temple Compound.
As well as blessing the front of the Temple—outside the Raja Gopuram, priests also blessed the newly renovated Maharadham chariot and other vehicles which will be used during processions in the upcoming 2021 Karthigai Deepam Festival.
The below photographs are of the Panthakal Function which was performed on Thursday, September 16, 2021 at Arunachaleswarar Temple to mark the official beginning of the rituals and ceremonies preceding the Karthigai Festival (Mahadeepam is Friday, November 19, 2021).
