Arunachala Deepam Festival. Day Ten - Early Morning: Bharani Deepam
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.
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."
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2016 Arunachala Deepam Festival. Day Ten - 6 p.m. Mahadeepam
Ceremonies for the final day of the festival began shortly after 4 a.m.,
on December 12, 2016. Priests started the rituals by lighting the
Bharani Deepam (five earthen lamps marking the five elements, but merged
into a single lamp to mark the convergence of the five elements) at
Arthamandapam.
Strong winds and rains on the day of Mahadeepam, Monday December 12,
2016, did not prevent a large number of devotees travelling to
Tiruvannamalai to witness this great event. In spite of cold, wet
conditions many devotees braved the climb to the summit of Arunachala to
view the lighting of the Deepam first hand. In addition from early
Monday morning throngs of people performed girivalam around the 14 km
perimeter of the Hill.
To read about the events in the evening proceed below to a narrative of an earlier Mahadeepam by Swami Abhisktananda.
"Towards five the singing stopped, as a procession emerged from the
Kalyana Mandapam. It was the five murtis which were now coming attired
in their most splendid garments and covered with flowers, to mix with
the crowd so that they might have the darshan of the Holy Light.
Immediately in front of the porch of the sanctuary stands a mandapam
which was built in 1202 by Mangayarkarasi to provide a shelter for the
Lords of the Temple during this annual function. The murtis passed
through the crowd in their palanquins carried on the shoulders of
devotees. Once they were in their place, everyone's attention was once
more turned towards the Mountain and the chanting of mantras began
again.
The atmosphere became more and more tense. . . The great moment was
drawing near for which everyone was waiting - the appearance of the Flame.
Expectation filled every heart and showed on every face. It increased
in harmony with the rhythm of the cosmos itself; as slowly beyond the
horizon the moon rose into the sky, while in the depths of space the
constellation of the Pleiades, of Krittika, appeared in the same
direction.
Suddenly there was the sound of an explosion, like a gunshot. Young
torch-bearers came running out of the inner sanctuary, brandishing their
lighted torches at arm's length. Priests offered the flame of the aarti
before the murti of Arunachala at its space under the mandapam. In
front of the main gate a huge bronze cauldron, filled with oil, camphor
and clarified butter, burst into a giant flame.
And from the peak of the Mountain also, - on which all eyes had been
fixed for the last full hour, not only in the Temple and the town, but
in the whole countryside around to a distance of many leagues - the flame
mounted up, manifesting both outwardly and in the heart of the faithful,
the mystery of Light which from the beginning has at the same time
hidden and revealed itself in Arunachala.
That is all. The Flame has been seen. Joy and grace have filled all
hearts. The crowd immediately begins to disperse, though it will be more
than two hours before the Temple courts are completely empty. Each one
as he leaves, goes to the bronze cauldron and casts into it his offering
of camphor or of oil to be burnt up in the one great flame - a symbol
of his own departure into the mystery of the Flame.
Meanwhile the bearers up above begin their slow and difficult descent
from the Mountain. They had climbed up early that morning in the first
light of dawn, carrying jars of oil and clarified butter. The worthiest
of their number were entrusted with bearing the sacred fire, taken from
each of the Temple shrines, in order to light the Deepam flame. This had
to be done at the very moment when, from their lofty observatory, they
saw simultaneously the red sun disappearing in the west while the moon's
dish came over the horizon in the east.
As soon as I left the Temple precincts amid the crowd of faithful, I
joined with many others in once more following the circular road round
Arunachala . . . as I stepped into the cool air of the night . . . all
the detailed features of the Mountain had disappeared. There was nothing
to be seen but the sharp outline of its mystic triangle sketched
against the sky. As the moon climbed majestically towards the zenith, it
shed over it its silvery light, while all around was spread a
mysterious shadow.
The Mountain had become an immense lamp, from the top of which glittered the bright Fame. OM."
Alangaram Ardhaneswara
Ardhaneswara being taken by palanquin out of Temple
Monday, December 12, 2016 was wet and rainy and made conditions both in
the Temple and on the Hill difficult. However in spite of windy sleeting
rains both Deepams in the Temple and on the Hill were lit at dusk
(approximately 6 p.m.) that evening.
Lighting the Deepam at Arunachaleswarar Temple
Lighting the Deepam on Arunachala
Lighting the Deepam on Arunachala
After days of storm and cloudy weather, darshan of Arunachala Deepam visible only from Wednesday December 14, 2016
2016 Arunachala Deepam Festival. Day Ten - Night: Golden Rishaba
Late in the night of the 10th day of the 2016 Karthigai Deepam Festival,
after both the Hill Deepam and Temple Deepam, Lord Arunachaleswarar
gave darshan on the Golden Rishaba (the golden bull) vahana.
The golden Rishaba was presented to the Temple by a devotee in 2015, at a
cost of Rs. 20 Lakhs. The 2016 Karthigai Deepam Festival is the second
time the Golden Rishaba has been used.
The Golden Rishaba
Golden Rishaba in front of Alankaram Mandapam
Panchamoorthies darshan Alankaram Mandapam
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