Kartikai Deepam

Yesterday, I was fortunate to see the glorious Karthikai Deepam on top of the holy hill Thirupparankundram near Madurai.The Kartikai Deepam festival is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Karthigai (November-December) in Tamilnadu and Kerala, and also by people in other parts of India, who call it by various names.

On this day, towns/villages/cities are full of earthen lamps that are lit at sunset, and this is a spectacular sight. Temples, both Shaiva and Vaishnava, have the special Deepam. Some people keep doubling the number of lamps from Deepawali day, so that they have a dazzling array of lamps on this day.

Significance of the festival:
In many traditions, light signifies knowledge and purity. The Kartikai Deepam also stands for the same.There is a wonderful anecdote describing this.
Lord Shiva, the destroyer, wanted to remove arrogance from the minds of Brahma and Vishnu. He took the form of an effulgent pillar of fire that was enormous. Vishnu took the form of a boar and started digging below to see how far the pillar went downwards, while Brahma took the form of a swan and flew upwards to check the upper limit of the same. Tired and unable to find the limits of the fiery splendour, the two returned to Shiva with humility who then reminded them that arrogance is to be shunned, and attaining knowledge and realising the Brahman is possible only by surrendering one's ego.
(Note: This was not written by any Shaiva fanatic claiming Shiva to be superior to the other two, this is just one anecdote that gives us a wonderful lesson-there are stories where others teach Him lessons too!)

This is observed as the Kartikai Deepam, and the famous Arunachala temple in Thiru Annamalai in Tamilnadu is known for the huge Deepam that's lit on top of the holy hill every year, and thousands gather to have a glimpse of this divine Deepam. This day, this whole month in fact, is very sacred for Murugan devotees too-Lord Murugan was made into a single boy from the 6 babies by Parvathy on this day. Special Poojas are performed for Him.
Vishnu worshippers celebrate this festival by lighting the lamp and conducting Pujas for the lamp, as a Deepam is verily Lord Vishnu Himself.