MAJOR FUNCTIONS
DAY 10: BARANI DEEPAM AND MAHADEEPAM
"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.
Five ghee pots |
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As these five flames loom up with red-yellow light, the famous South
Indian festival of Krittika Dipam 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."
One Flame
Significance:
"There is immense significance in this ceremony called
Bharani Deepam. At this time, the universal Lord manifests as the five
elements, which will later fully merge to become one when the Krittika
Deepam flame is lit in the evening. From one to many and many to one.
This is the whole essence of Saivism and the meaning of Krittika
Deepam."
The Deepam One Flame
2015 Deepam Festival - Brahma Theertham Theerthavari
Each day of the 10 day Deepam Festival the Sulam (trishul) is carried
with reverence and pomp on the mada veedhis (Temple perimeter streets)
about an hour prior to the daily designated processions each morning and
evening.
During the daytime of the Mahadeepam day at Arunachaleswarar Temple, the
Siva Sulam (representative the Lord's Trident) traditionally is
sanctified in the Braham Teertham through abhishekam and puja.
Abhishekam performed on morning of 10th Day of Deepam Festival
Gods at base of Trisula
The three points of the Sulam (Trident) are said to represent the triads
of; creation, maintenance and destruction, past, present and future and
the three conditions (sattwa, rajas and tamas). When looked upon as a
weapon of Lord Siva, the Trisula is said to destroy the three worlds:
the physical world, the world of the past) and the world of the mind
(representing the processes of sensing and acting).
At base of Trisula, Lord Siva and Goddess on Rishaba vahana
Immersion in Brahma Theertham
In the human body, the Trisula also represents the place where the three
main nadis, or energy channels (ida, pingala and shushmana) meet at the
brow. Shushmana, the central one, continues upward to the 7th chakra,
or energy centre, while the other two end at the brow, where the 6th
chakra is located. The Trishula's central point represents Shushmana,
and thus is longer than the other two representing ida and pingala.
2015 Deepam Festival. Day 10--Afternoon: Countdown to 6 p.m. Mahadeepam
From early morning on the day of Mahadeepam (25th November, 2015), there
was a rush of activity both on the streets surrounding the Temple and
also in the Temple Compound.
The below photographs are a pictorial record of the countdown to that
time between day and the dusk; heralding the lighting of the Mahadeepam
both at Arunachaleswarar Temple and on Arunachala summit.
Thirumanjana Street
Thiruvoodal Street bisecting Thirumanjana Street
Many devotees starting hill round girivalam
Crowds inside 3rd Prakaram, Big Temple
Preparing Deepam Cauldron
Waiting outside Sambanda Vinayakar Shrine
Cameramen and reporters on the galleries upstairs
Waiting for 6 p.m. and Mahadeepam
Panchamoorthies at Kaatchi Mandapam
The above video is of devotees inside the Arunachaleswarar Temple
Compound, waiting patiently for dusk and the lighting of the Mahadeepam
both in the Temple and a few moments later on the Arunachala summit.
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