Chithirai festival

Devotees gathered at East Masi street to watch the car setting off, marking the beginning of the car festival.

Chithirai Festival, also known as Chithirai Thiruvizha, Meenakshi Kalyanam or Meenakshi Thirukalyanam, is an annual Tamil Hindu celebration in the city of Madurai during the month of April. It is celebrated during the Tamil month of Chithirai. It lasts for one month, of which the first 15 days mark the celebrations of the coronation of Lady Meenakshi and her marriage to Lord Sundarishvara (Shiva), and the next 15 days mark the celebrations of the Journey of Lord Alagar (Vishnu) from Kallazhagar temple in Alagar Koyil to Madurai.

History

Historically, the Meenakshi festival and Alagar festival were separate events celebrated in different months.

As per the legend, Meenakshi was the daughter of the Pandya king Malayadhwaja Pandian and queen Kanchana Malai. The royal couple didn't have a child for a long time, so Malayadhwaja Pandian performed special poojas and offered his prayers to God. During the pooja, a small girl came out of the fire and sat on the lap of the king. At that time, a divine voice from the sky told them that this child was an incarnation of Shakti (the wife of Lord Shiva), and Shiva himself would come to marry her at the right age. Meenakshi was trained in warfare, and she was crowned as the Queen of the Pandya kingdom after her father died. She conquered the whole world with her extraordinary war skills, and at last she went to Kailash (the abode of Lord Shiva) to conquer it. When Meenakshi confronted Shiva in the battlefield, she fell in love with him and realized that she was an avatar of Shakti.

Lord Shiva assured Lady Meenakshi that he would come to Madurai to marry her. As promised, Lord Shiva, along with all the devas and rishis, came to Madurai. Lord Shiva married Lady Meenakshi and ruled the Pandya kingdom under the name Sundara Pandyan.

The Meenakshi festival was originally a separate Shaivaite celebration. Below is the story of the Alagar festival, which was celebrated by Vaishnavites.

Once, a rishi named Mandooka was taking a bath in the holy waters of Aagaayagangai in Alagar hills. At that time, the most powerful and short tempered rishi, Durvasa, came by that way. Mandooka hadn't noticed his arrival, so Durvasa took this as an insult and cursed Mandooka to become a frog and live in the river Vaigai. Mandooka was worried by the curse and pleaded for mercy. Durvasa told him to go to Vaigai and pray to Lord Alagar (Vishnu) to be released from the curse and get back his human body. As advised by Durvasa, Mandooka went to the river Vaigai and lived in the river as a frog and prayed to lord Alagar.

Alagar was pleased by the prayers of Mandooka, and he himself went to river Vaigai to lift the curse off Mandooka. And, as per Mandooka's wish, he showed him all his ten avatars and blessed him.

During the rule of King Thirumalai Nayakar, both festivals were merged into a single event to unite the people of the two Hindu sects (Shaivites and Vaishnavites). Since then, they have been celebrated as one grand event during the Tamil month of Chithirai, and this gives the celebration its famous name, Chithirai Festival.

Legend

People in and around Madurai tell this story as the history of Chithirai Thiruvizha.

The wedding of Meenakshi with Sundarishvar (Lord Shiva) was to happen in Madurai. Alagar, the brother of Meenakshi, was invited. He started on a 20 km journey from his abode at Alagar Hills towards Madurai. Alagar decided to travel disguised as a robber to protect himself and his belongings. At times, he had to hide to avoid getting arrested by soldiers. This, and the dense forest of Alagar Hills, delayed his journey further. This delay was purposely caused by Lord Shiva, and he himself took form of Lord Alagar and performed the "Kanyathanam" (handing over a girl in marriage) of Lady Meenakshi. This was enacted by Lord Shiva to show the World that Vishnu (Alagar) and Shiva are one and the same. Later, when Lord Alagar was crossing the Vaigai river, he learned that his sister's wedding was over. This made him furious. To pacify Lady Meenakshi and Lord Shiva, Alagar came to the Vaigai river. He chose to give all the gifts that he carried to Meenakshi and Sundarishvar in a Mandapam in the middle of the Vaigai river, and returned to Alagar Hill without entering Madurai.

List of events

The following are the list of events in the Chithirai festival.

Kodi Yetram

During this event, the chief priest of the Meenakshi temple hoists the holy flag on the Dwajasthambam (flag pole) of the temple. This marks the beginning of the long festival. The flag will stay on the flag pole until the end of the festival.

Pattabisekam

Pattabisekam is a coronation ceremony. Lady Meenakshi is crowned as the queen of Madurai on this day, and she will rule the Pandya Kingdom for the next four months. After that, her husband Lord Sundarishvar will be crowned as the king of Madurai for the next eight months.

Dikvijayam

After Lady Meenakshi was crowned as the queen of the Pandya kingdom, she went into war with all the countries in the world and conquered the whole world and she went to Kailasha (the home of Lord Shiva in Himalayas) to conquer it. However, after seeing Lord Shiva on the battlefield, she fell in love with him and married him.

Meenakshi Kalyanam

Meenakshi Kalyanam is the wedding celebration of Lady Meenakshi and Lord Shiva (Sunderishvara) in Madurai. On the day of Meenakshi Kalyanam, devotees get up at sunrise and reach the Meenakshi temple in Madurai. After taking a holy dip in the golden lotus pond, they wear clean clothes. Lady Meenakshi is first worshipped using traditional methods, following which prayers are offered to Viboothi Vinayakar. On this day, devotees sing devotional songs and bhajans. It is also considered auspicious to wear the holy ash known as Rutraksham while entering the temple premises. Devotees also carry fruits, coconuts and incense sticks to offer to their gods. Inside the temple, the idols of the gods and goddesses are decorated with beautiful silk clothes and floral garlands. On the day of Meenakshi Kalyanam, the entire temple is decorated as a bride. There are nearly 50 priests in the Meenakshi Madurai temple who perform the puja rituals and special prayers. The main priests in the temple perform the ritualistic wedding ceremonies. At the completion of the event, magnificent idols of Lord Sundarishvar and Lady Meenakshi Amman are taken out in huge processions on the streets in the Pushpa Pallakku and Yaanai Vahanam.

Significance of Meenakshi Kalyanam: Meenakshi Kalyanam is a part of the renowned Chithirai Thiruvizha celebrations. This festival is observed during the month of Chitirai in the Tamil calendar. Chithirai Thiruvizha is an annual event celebrated with great pomp and show in Madurai in the month of April or May as per the Gregorian calendar. It is known to be the world’s longest celebration, as it lasts for a period of one month (30 days). Of this, the first 15 days are dedicated to Lady Meenakshi (an incarnation of Lady Parvati) and the remaining 15 days are dedicated to Alagar, who is known to be a form of Vishnu. Alagar was the elder brother of Meenakshi, and he visited Madurai to attend the marriage ceremony of Lord Shiva and Lady Meenakshi.

Chariot festival

The Chariot festival, also known as Ther Tiruvizha or Rathotsavam, is performed the day after Meenakshi Kalyanam. The king and queen of the Pandya Kingdom, Lord Sunderishvar and Lady Meenakshi, come to see their subjects in a well-decorated chariot. It attracts many people in the Masi streets of Madurai as viewers.

Ethir Sevai

Part of the Chithirai Thiruvizha of Lord Kallazhagar temple at Alagar Koyil, the Ethir Seva began on the fourth day of the festival. On this day, Alagar changed his appearance as Kallar (Kallar vedam) when he traveled via Kallar Nadu and entered Madurai city and the people of the city welcomed him.

Alagar Vaigai Elenthuarulal

After the holy marriage of Meenakshi, her brother tried to come to the marriage. Lord Alagar came from Alagarkoil to Madurai slowly, making a couple of stops on the way. When he reached the Vaigai river bank, he heared that the wedding was over, so he got angry and returned to Alagarkoil after giving the gifts to Meenakshi and Sundarishvar. A reenactment of this event happens in a RR mandapam in Madhichiyam in the middle of river Vaigai.

References

Madurai Chithirai Thiruvizha 2017 Schedule