Deepam Festival. Day Seven - Full Day: Maharadham
Tuesday December 2, 2014, was the seventh day of the 2014 Karthigai
Deepam Festival and definitely one of the most popular. It was the day
of the Maharadham, the massive wooden chariot that is pulled around the
mada veedhis (four perimeter streets surrounding Arunachaleswarar
Temple) by devotees. The men pull on the right side of the chariot and
the women on the left.
One chariot each for the panchamoorthies
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Lord Arunachaleswarar in His sanctum top of the Maharadham
Gents on right, ladies to the left pulling chariot on Thiruvoodal Street
Circumambulation of Temple by Maharadham takes around 12 hours
 To propel Maharadham, lads jump on levers wedged under the back wheels
Puja with Rukku for 2014 Arunachala Karthigai Mahadeepam Cauldron
Rukku our beautiful Temple elephant participating in a puja blessing the
Cauldron which will thereafter be carried up to the top of Arunachala
in readiness for Mahadeepam on December 5, 2014 at approximately 6.00
p.m.
Rukku in puja blessing the 2014 Cauldron
Men from fishing caste are in charge of the Arunachala cauldron
Thousands of litres of ghee waiting to be carried to top of Hill
Carrying 2014 Karthigai Deepam pot up Arunachala
Every year during Deepam five earthen-pot lighted lamps, representing
the five elements, provide the flame for the single Bharani Deepam which
fisherman carry to the top of the mountain for use as the source-light
for the Karthigai Deepam. The unique privilege for taking the flame
(source-light) and cauldron up the Hill and also for the actual lighting
of the Deepam Flame is always given (for long as the Hill's recorded
history) to men of the fishing caste.
The Deepam cauldron is hauled up the slopes of Arunachala supported by poles inserted into the cauldron's rings.
The reason for the extraordinary grace shown to the fishing clan
reputedly is explained by a famous legend of the time the Goddess
Parvati was adopted by the king of the fishermen. A version of the story
appears below.
Becoming a Fisherman
"Once, the Lord was explaining to the Goddess the secret import of the
Vedas. However, the Goddess who was listening to the Lord, seemed to be
beset with some anxiety and was otherwise engrossed. It was, therefore,
apparent that She was listening in name only. The Lord noticed this and
said that as She was not paying full attention to the important things
discoursed by him, that she should be born in the fisherman's community.
The Goddess lamented this and the Lord assured Her that She would be
born to the king of fishermen and that He (The Lord) would in due course
come to wed her.
Ganapathi and Subrahmanya, the sons of the Lord were greatly perturbed
by this and in their confusion and agitation, considered the Vedas to be
the cause of the trouble and threw the offending books into the sea.
The Lord took Nandikeswara to task for having allowed Vinayaka and
Subrahmanya to go to Him without knowing His convenience and cursed him
to become a shark in the sea. Any curse on Ganapathi would recoil on Him
and hence the Lord did not impose a curse upon the elephant god
however, Subrahmanya was cursed to become the dumb son of a merchant.
There was a place called Pakam on the eastern seashore of the Pandya
Kingdom which was inhabited by fishermen and their king of the great
fisherman clan of Paravar, was a great devotee of Lord Siva. The king
had no children and one day, when he went to the sea for fishing, found a
crying female child lying under a Pinnai tree (or Punnai, Calophyllam
Inophyllam) on the seashore. He picked the child up with great joy and
handed it to his wife saying that it was a gift of the Lord. His wife
brought up the child very affectionately and adorned it with various
jewels. The child grew to be a girl who constantly meditated on Lord
Siva.
As ordained by the Lord, Nandikeswara became a shark and caused havoc to
the fishermen's boats sailing in the sea. The king of the fishermen
took considerable pains to catch the shark - but all was in vain.
The king therefore announced that he would give his daughter in marriage
to any person who could catch the shark.
The Lord appeared in the guise of a young fisherman and the king was
struck with the personality and bearing of the young newcomer. To the
king's enquiry He replied that he was a fishermen and could net any big
fish or shark. The king told him of the prize offered for netting the
shark infesting the area. The newcomer went to the sea and in no time
netted the shark.
The king and his men were astonished at the feat. As promised the king
gave to the newcomer his daughter in marriage. The bride and bridegroom
immediately appeared as Siva and Parvati on the rishaba mount and the
shark appeared as Nandikeswara.
The king of the fishermen prayed to God extolling Him for the great
kindness shown to an ordinary and illiterate man like him. The Lord told
him that as he has he had been yearning to get a child for so long, he
had sent Parvati as his daughter and He came himself came to wed Her.
The Lord also blessed the king to have all prosperity and at the end of
his life to become a denizen of Sivaloka. Then the Lord instructed
Parvati about the secret import of the Vedas and She eagerly and
earnestly listened to the discourse."
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