Bharani Deepam: 2020 Arunachaleswarar Temple

2020 Bharani Deepam Significance

 

"The all-pervading quiet of early morning is suddenly disrupted by a mad clamor of thunderous sound. Ringing bells, pounding drums and piercing nagaswarams (temple horns) almost overpower the belting voices of hundreds of devotees who are singing songs in praise of Siva, the Lord of Arunachala. It is 4:30 am on the 29th November, 2020, and the main sanctum sanctorum of the massive Tiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarar Temple is packed with souls who have been waiting eagerly for this moment.

The chief priest has just finished a simple ritual called Bharani Deepam and now ceremoniously waves a huge camphor flame in the direction of nearby Arunachala mountain. Although he is chanting Sanskrit slokas, he cannot be heard amidst the deafening furor of devotion that surrounds him. Finally, he touches the flame he is holding to the wicks of five huge, earthen, ghee-filled pots, representing the sacred elements; earth, air, fire, water and ether.

As these five flames loom up with red-yellow light, the famous South Indian festival of Karthigai Deepam officially begins. A single flame is then taken from the pots and kept burning in the Temple throughout the day as a symbol of the merging of manifestation back into God, the one source of all. This single flame is referred to as the Bharani Deepam.

Around 10:00 a.m. this Bharani morning, a group of fishermen will be blessed by a priest in a ceremony at the Temple. Amidst ringing bells and temple music, the priest will give the fishermen a lamp in a protected container that has been lit from the Bharani Deepam in the Temple. After the consecration ritual, the fishermen take off up the mountain. It will take them about four hours to carry the flame to the top of Arunachala.

Others of the same hereditary fishing family will remain at the Temple and in the evening light the Deepam flame outside the Arunachaleswarar Siva Sannidhi."

 

 

Watch below video from Arunachaleswarar Temple which live streamed the 2020 Bharani Deepam.

 

Live Streaming Link: 2020 Arunachala Karthigai Mahadeepam

 

For those who want to watch videos of 2020 Karthigai Deepam functions, you can visit the Big Temple's channel on You Tube. 

Tomorrow early morning (after 4 a.m.) there will be live coverage from the Temple Compound of the Bharani Deepam and in the evening from around 4 p.m. there will be live coverage of the Karthigai Deepam Function being held in the Third Prakaram.

The official You Tube channel hosting the live streaming is at this link here.   

I will post photographs (and videos when I receive them) of the Karthigai Deepam function occuring on the summit of Arunachala as soon as I receive them. There are NO PLANS to have live streaming of the Karthigai Mahadeepam lighting on top of the Holy Hill.

Below are three photographs of the 2020 Arunachala Karthigai Deepam Cauldron.

 

 

Newly repainted Cauldron waiting inside Old Office, Big Temple

Cauldron ready to be taken up Arunachala

Carrying Cauldron up Arunachala

 

Day 5. Daytime. Deepam 2020: Arunachaleswarar Temple

While we are all grateful that a 2020 Deepam Festival is being celebrated at Tiruvannamalai, it is hoped that this year and its reduced Festival is an anomaly never to be repeated and that devotees need not be deprived in future years of the majesty and delight of the Arunachala Karthigai Mahadeepam Festival.

In this regard, just as a reminder of what the usual Festival looks like on Day 5 of this Festival, I am posting three photographs below of an earlier year's celebration of this day. First photograph is of the Lord on his Silver Elephant Vahana, the second is of the 4 Saiva Samaya Acharyas and the third photo shows students carrying the rest of the 63 Nayanars on their own individualised palanquins. 

To read more about the significance of this day, please refer to this posting in the archives of an earlier year's Deepam at this link here.

To learn more about the Nayanars, go to this link here.

 

Lord on Silver Elephant Vahana

 

Saiva Samaya Archaryas

 

 

Nayanars on Individual Palanquins

 

Day 4. Evening. Deepam 2020: Arunachaleswarar Temple

 

 

 

Day 4. Daytime. Deepam 2020: Arunachaleswarar Temple

Day 3. Evening. Deepam 2020:Arunachaleswarar Temple

 

Because of complications connected with pandemic restrictions, the 2020 Karthigai Deepam Festival currently underway at Tiruvannamalai, is being celebrated only in the confines of Arunachaleswarar Temple. There are no processions on the Mada Veedhi Streets, there will be no Maharadham circumambulation on the Deepam 7th Day, and Theppal celebrations will take place at Brahma Teertham inside the Big Temple rather than its traditional venue i.e. Ayyankulam Tank in front of Arunagirinathar Temple (the 3rd most famous Shiva Temple at Tiruvannamalai).

 

Traditionally each day and night during the Deepam Festival is dedicated to a specific God's Vahana, this year that is not the case probably because some Vahanas are too large or ungainly to navigate the restricted spaceways inside the Temple Prakarams.

 

Shortly after completion of this year's Festival, an archive of the whole of the 2020 Karthigai Deepam will be posted on Arunchala Samudra website. In the meantime you might like to refer back to an archive (posted on Arunachala Samudra) of the Karthigai Deepam Festival and review a more traditional observance of this Festival with information about the significance of each day.

 

 

 

 

High Court Ruling: 2020 Karthigai Deepam Festival

 

I am posting below an article from The Hindu regarding "High Court says no to modifying restrictions imposed on Tiruvannamalai Karthigai Deepam festival".

 

"High Court says no to modifying restrictions imposed on Tiruvannamalai Karthigai Deepam festival

 

The Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with any of the restrictions imposed by the Tiruvannamalai district administration with respect to conduct of the Arunachaleswarar Temple's 17-day Karthigai Deepam festival which began on Tuesday and is scheduled to end on December 3.

 

Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha took judicial notice of numerous lives that had been lost due to COVID-19 and also the fact that lakhs of devotees congregate in the temple every year to witness various rituals associated with the annual festival. They felt that it would be very difficult to follow the COVID-19 standard operating procedures.

 

Disposing of a public interest litigation petition filed by V. Sakthivel, State vice-president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bench observed that people in such gatherings generally lack self discipline and hence relaxing any of the restrictions might make it difficult for the police to control the crowd and lead to other complications.

 

Though the petitioner's counsel insisted that the Urchavamoorthy must be taken in a temple car on the four Mada Veethis around the temple on November 26, the judges said they were not inclined to interfere with the decision taken by the district administration as well as temple management to take the Panchamoorthigal only on the fifth Pravesam within the precincts of the temple to avoid gathering of large crowd to witness the car festival.

 

The judges hoped that the restrictions imposed on the festival would be for this year alone and normalcy would be restored from next year. The observation was made since the petitioner feared that permitting any change to the mode of conduct of the festival would become a new normal and the temple management might not revert to old practices thereafter.

 

Explaining the restrictions imposed, advocate AK Sriram, representing the temple management, told the court that only 800 devotees would be permitted inside the temple every two hours after insisting upon wearing of masks, checking their body temperature and so on. The devotees would be allowed inside the temple only till November 28.

 

The Bharani Deepam would be lit at 4 am and the Maha Deepam at 6 pm on November 29 when no devotee would be allowed inside the temple. "We will not be able to control the crowd, if we allow devotees inside the temple on that day. When it comes to the question of health, we must strike a balance between it and the need to follow religious practices and rituals," he said.

 

The counsel added that the Theppa Utsavam would generally be conducted at Ayyankulam which was about two kilometres away from the temple. However, this year, it had been decided to conduct the ritual in the Brahma Theertha Kulam inside the temple. Only those required to conduct the Utsavam would be allowed inside the temple on that day and entry shall be barred for devotees. The entire festival would come to an end with the Sandikesavar Urchavam on December 3".

Flag Hoisting Ceremony: 2020 Arunachala Karthigal Festival

 

The below sequence of photographs are of the flag hoisting ceremony at Arunachaleswarar Temple denoting the beginning of the 2020 Arunachala Karthigal Mahadeepam Festival. To learn the significance of this flag hoisting ceremony, visit this link here. 

Now that devotees carrying the Palanquins of the Gods seem to be exempt from wearing masks, I will try and post a good selection of upcoming functions. 

 

 

 

Flag Hoisting at Arunachaleswarar Temple: November 20, 2020

Flag Hoisting Ceremony, Arunachaleswarar Temple

 

Dhvaja Stambha (flagstaff), Arunachaleswarar Temple

 

Official Video of Flag Hoisting Ceremony, Arunachaleswarar Temple, 2020 Deepam Festival

 

 

 

3 Celebratory Days pre-Deepam Festival, 2020

 

There are three celebratory days before the start of the 10 Day Deepam Festival. 

On the first of these three days, Durga Amman is worshipped at the Durga Amman Temple. 

On the second day the Goddess Pidari is worshipped at the 3rd Prakaram, Arunachaleswarar Temple. 

On the third day Lord Ganesha is worshipped at the 3rd Prakaram, Arunachaleswarar Temple. 

This year a very limited version of the Deepam Festival is being observed at Tiruvannamalai. I am receiving photographs of the various functions, but plan to post only the more natural ones that do not show devotees wearing masks. In this respect devotees carrying the Gods on palanquins are all wearing masks.

However priests performing Ursavam on the Gods and accompanying them upon processional chariots around the Temple Compound are not wearing masks. 

 

Durgai Amman Alangaram, 2020 Deepam Festival

 

Pidari Amman Alangaram, 2020 Deepam Festival

Lord Vinayakar Alangaram, 2020 Deepam Festival

Lord Vinayakar procession Temple compound, 2020 Deepam Festival

There is an excellent write up and explanation of the above  functions held on the three consecutive days prior to the commencement of the 10-day Deepam Festival, at this link here.