Karthigai Deepam Festival

By Mira Pawar

During the Karthik month which falls between November and December, it’s an annual ritual to light a Deepam on top of the Arunachala Hill. This hill is considered a physical manifestation of Lord Shiva, representing his eternal and formless nature. This festival is also known as Karthigai Deepam Festival. The festival takes place in Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. Lord Shiva is worshipped in this temple as Arunachaleswarar. This year the Deepam is going to be lit on the 13^th of December.

Every year, thousands of devotees visit the temple to establish a profound connection with the divine. The visit is believed to bring positive energy into the devotee’s household and eliminate the negative energies and remove any prevalent disease. It’s a pity this year, there are restriction on devotees visit to the temple due to the recent mishap that took place near Arunachala Hill in Tiruvannamalai which involved a boulder falling on a house, killing seven people including five children. This incident was caused by landslip and heavy rain that occurred in the hills on 01 Dec 2024 and the area is still declared to be slippery and unsafe. Considering the safety of the devotees, the forest department, has decided against allowing too many devotees to climb the hill. Many devotees are surely going to be disappointed this year for not visiting the temple and seek blessing of Lord Shiva.

Lighting the Deepam signifies triumph over darkness and therefore, thousands of Deepams normally are lit throughout Tiruvannamalai, turning the town into a luminous spectacle that reflects spirituality and devotion. It is believed that once Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma had a fight over the issue as to who was more supreme and powerful. To settle the dispute, Lord Shiva appeared as a colossal column of light and then took the form of Arunachala. To prove and conclude the supremacy, a test was conducted to find the beginning and end of the flame. Lord Vishnu and Lord brahma both failed in this attempt.

The Arunachalam temple is one of the oldest temples in South India. The towering gopurams (towers) and intricate stone carvings are not just architectural wonder but also stories etched in stone.