Kartika Deepam

Kartika Deepam is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Kartika according to the calendar of Bharat.

The month of Kartika is considered to be the holiest month in the Hindu lunar calendar. Kartika Purnima is also known as “Tripurari Purnima” as it commemorates the victory of Lord Shiva over the three demons known as “Tripurasuras”. If the Purnima occurs on kartika nakshatram it is considered to be even more sacred and is known as “Maha Kartika”.

The day of Kartika Purnima is so auspicious that any religious activity done on this day gives manifold benefits. It is claimed that performing puja, dana (giving of charity) or snana (taking baths in sacred rivers) on this day is equivalent to performing a hundred Ashvamedha Yagas. It is aptly stated that taking the vow of Kartika Purnima provides us with all the goals of life – dharma, artha, kama and moksha. These are the four goals of Hinduism. They can be loosely translated as dharma –righteousness, artha – wealth, kama – pleasure and moksha or liberation.

The first incarnation of Vishnu is known as the “Matsyavatara” (incarnation as the fish). This is said to have taken place on Kartika Purnima so this is a special day for worshipping Vishnu in the form of a fish.

This is one of the oldest festivals celebrated in South Bharat. One of the first references to the festival is the Ahananuru, a book of poems dating from the Sangham Age (200 BC to 300 AD). The Ahananuru clearly states that Kartika is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Kartika. It was one of the most important festivals of the ancient Tamils. Avvaiyyar, a famous poet of the time, refers to the festival in his songs. The inscriptions in our mandirs also refer to the festival. A mid-sixteenth-century inscription on the Arulalaperumal Mandir in Kanchipuram refers to the Thiru Karthikai Thirunal festival. It is basically a festival of lamps. The illuminated lamp is considered a symbol of enlightenment. Hence, many of our Hindu festivals make use of lighted lamps. It is believed to remove the forces of evil and lead to prosperity and joy. On this day thousands of little lamps are lit in front of all houses in South Bharat.

Even though this festival is celebrated across Bharat, it is given more importance in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. This is also known as “Dev Diwali”. It is claimed that the gods take a dip in all the sacred rivers on this day, so those who take a bath in sacred waters on this day will get their blessings. This auspicious bath is called “Kartik Snan” and the most important places to take the ritual bath or snan are Varanasi and Prayag Raj. The snan is done at sunrise or moonrise.

Jains celebrate this day as the “Jain Festival of Light.” For followers of Sikhism, the day of Kartika Purnima marks the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and is celebrated as Guru Nanak Jayanti.

Houses are cleaned and washed on this day. Mystic patterns or yantras called kolams are made in front of the house to welcome the deities. They are made with rice flour. Lamps called agal are placed in front of the deities in the prayer room and are also used as decorations in the kolams.

Traditionally, different types of lamps are lit on this occasion. They come in different sizes, shapes and colours. Large clay lamps and stone and metal lamps are lit in many houses. In fact, the entire house is decorated with numerous lamps. Lots of diyas or mud lamps are used as we do during Diwali but in South Bharat, we find that lamps of different shapes are also used. The Lakshmi villaku (lamp) is shaped like a woman with folded hands, the Kuthu villaku is shaped like a five-petalled flower and the Gajalakshmi villaku is in the shape of an elephant. It is said that the ancient Tamils even imported lamps from Greece and Rome, through the ports of Arikamedu (near Pondicherry), Mamallai or Mamallapuram and Mylai or Mylapore (suburbs of Chennai). One of these imported lamps was in the form of a swan with a fish placed at the top. A few of these interesting lamps can still be seen in some of the old houses.

In Andhra Pradesh, a huge lamp with three hundred and sixty-five wicks is lit to ward off any evil for the whole year of three hundred and sixty-five days and the holy text of Kartika Purana is recited by a priest or some of the elders.

Some people observe a fast for the whole day and eat some special prasad at night after it has been offered to the deities.

The legend behind this festival connects all the three main deities of Hinduism – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. It is said that Brahma and Vishnu once wanted to find out who was more powerful. While they were debating about this, Shiva appeared before them in the form of an enormous pillar of fire. He asked them to find out the beginning and end of this pillar. Both of them agreed. Brahma took the form of a swan and moved upward. Vishnu took on the form of a wild boar and started burrowing down into the bowels of the earth. Even after searching for centuries, neither of them could find out the top or bottom of the mighty pillar of fire. Vishnu came up and admitted defeat. On his way up Brahma saw the keora flower floating down from Shiva’s locks. He asked her to give false witness that he had reached the top of the column. She agreed, albeit reluctantly. They returned and Brahma said he had seen the top. The keora flower nodded her head in agreement. Shiva was incensed when he heard this and cursed both of them. He told Brahma that he would have no mandirs in his name and no one would ever worship him. He reprimanded the keora flower and said that in future she would never be used in his worship!!  

Soon after, Lord Shiva appeared as a hill in Thiruvannamalai (Arunachala) in Tamil Nadu. In fact, the names “Thiruvannamalai” and “Arunachala” can both be translated as “hill of the sacred fire.” Actually, Shiva has also incarnated himself in the five forms of the pancha bhutas. The pancha bhutas are the five basic elements of creation. They are akasha or ether, vayu or air, agni or fire, apas or water and prithvi or earth. The linga in the mandir here is the agni linga or fire linga. When we go into the passage leading to the sanctum we feel waves of heat coming from inside. The linga at Arunachala is also one of the twelve Jyotirlingams or self-created lingas of Shiva.

On the night of the full moon in the month of Kartika, a huge bonfire is lit on top of the hill of Arunachala which can be seen for miles around. It is believed that the small lamps lit during the Kartika festival are miniature replicas of the Kartika Deepam in Thiruvannamalai. It can be seen from miles afar. This represents the column of fire by which Shiva appeared on this day in ancient times on the hill of Arunachala.

In most places, the marriage of Tulasi with Vishnu is conducted on the ekadashi (eleventh day) of the bright fortnight in the month of Kartika but in some places, this day of Kartika Purnima or full moon in the month of Kartika is the auspicious day on which the marriage ceremony of Lord Vishnu with Devi Vrinda (tulasi plant) is commemorated. The tulasi plant is brought inside the house and draped with a red cloth. Lord Vishnu in the form of a saligrama (black stone denoting Vishnu) is placed beside her. There are many quaint rituals that are followed at this time, ending with an elaborate arati.

The wedding season in Bharat begins with Tulasi Vivah day.

Pushkar is another place where the full moon in the month of Kartika is celebrated with great joy. Pushkar is a town in Rajasthan which has the only mandir to Brahma in Bharat. It also has a holy lake which is supposed to have been created by Brahma. Pushkar is a small town which comes alive in the month of Kartika. A huge camel fair is held there every year in this month to which tribes come from all over the desert and surrounding villages. In modern times this fair has become a huge event to which people come from all over the world. The full moon rising over the desert sands presents a fantastic scene. The grand Pushkar Mela (fair) ends on the day of the full moon. This is the most important day of the mela in which thousands of devotees take a bath in the sacred waters of Pushkar Lake. Circumambulation of the lakes is also considered to bring a lot of spiritual merits.

All Hindu festivals have reiterated this theme of taking us from darkness to light. This festival is no exception to this rule. Diwali is celebrated on the darkest night of the new moon or amavasya and Kartika Deepam on the brightest night of the full moon or purnima! We are reminded of the famous Vedic mantra:

“Asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrityor ma amritam gamaya.”

“Lead us from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light and from death to immortality!”

May all of us in this country and on this planet wake up to the full moon of enlightenment!

This year 2024 this festival falls on 15th November

Hari Aum Tat Sat!