Panguni Uthiram (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

:பங்குனி உத்திரம்) is a South Indian Hindu festival and day of importance to Tamils. Panguni Uthiram is a famous festival and special to

Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

Ayyappa Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion ...

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

devotees. It falls on the day the moon transits in the asterism or ''nakshatram'' of Uthiram (tamil) in the twelfth month Panguni (பங்குனி) of the Tamil calendar. It is the

Purnima Pūrṇimā () is the word for full moon in Sanskrit. The day of Purnima is the day (''Tithi'') in each month when the full moon occurs, and marks the division in each month between the two lunar fortnights (paksha), and the Moon is aligned exa ...

or full moon of the month of Panguni (பங்குனி 14 March - 13 April). This coincides with the

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

month of

Phalguna Phalguna ( sa, फाल्गुन ) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Phalguna is twelfth month of the year, and corresponds with February/March in the Gregorian calendar.Henderson, Helene. (Ed.) (2005) ' ...

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

. Panguni is also the last month of Solar Tamil Calendar year after which the next New Tamil year starts.

Significance

This month is special because the Uthiram ''nakshatram'' coincides with the full moon. This full moon signifies the marriage of

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

and Parameswara (Lord

and

Deivanai Devasena (, ) is a Hindu goddess of aspiration, and the consort of the war god Kartikeya (Murugan). She is also known as Devayanai, Deivanai, and Deivayanai in Tamil texts. Her name is also spelled as Teyvanai or Tevayanai (). Devasena is d ...

, and

Aandaal Andal ( ta, ஆண்டாள்), also known as Kothai, Nachiyar, and Godadevi, was the only female Alvar among the twelve Hindu poet-saints of South India. She was posthumously considered an avatar of the goddess Bhudevi. As with the Alv ...

(Kothai) and Rangamannar. On Panguni Uthiram, Narayana marries Komalavalli Naachiyar and gave Kalyana Kola Seva to his Bhakthas. Again,

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ...

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

says it is on this day and star that

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

's marriage with

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

was celebrated. The '' Brahmanda Puranam'' indicates that on Panguni Uthiram, all holy water joins Thumburu teertha (also spelt as Tirtha), one of seven sacred tanks in

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is refe ...

Tirumala. It is the ''Jayanti'' (day of incarnation) of Lord

Ayyappan Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion t ...

. The day is intended to underline the glory of (or the married life of a householder). The almighty manifests in the marital state as Uma Maheswara, Sita Rama, and

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

– despite his changelessness, sans childhood or youth or old age - and is celebrated by devotees. On this day, Goddess

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). Al ...

incarnated on earth from the ocean of milk (after the ocean was churned by the Gods and the demons) and hence, it is also celebrated as ''Mahalakshmi Jayanti''. On this day, Goddess

in the form of Gowri married Lord

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

and hence, this day is also celebrated as the Gowri Kalyanam day.

Festivals

On Panguni Uthiram, in all the places where Lord Subrahmanya has a temple, the devotees carry a ''

kavadi Kavadi Aattam (Tamil: காவடி ஆட்டம், Malayalam: കാവടിയാട്ടം) ("Burden Dance") is a ceremonial sacrifice and offering practiced by devotees during the worship of Murugan,Kent, Alexandra. ''Divinity and Di ...

'' for the fulfillment of vows. Devotees flock in hundreds to all the

temples for the Panguni Uthiram festival, which is celebrated in March every year. The day of Panguni Uthiram is of special significance to the worship of earth element, ''Prithvi lingam'' of Ekambareswarar Temple at Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. where festivities last for 13 days.Panguni Uthiram at Lord Ekambaranathar Templ

/ref> Panguni month Uthiram nakshatram coincides with the full moon is also the festival of

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

, celebrating the arrival of spring, the festival of colors, the end of winter, and for many it's a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, blossoming of love and marriage. Hiranyakashbu's sister Holika tried to burn Prahalada and got burnt herself, Krishna and Radha play with colors. Hence the day is important for

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

Kaumaram __NOTOC__ Murugan is a Hindu denomination that primarily venerates the Hindu deity of war, ''Kumaran'', also known as Murugan (in South India), ''Kandan'', or ''Kadamban'', or '' Kartikeya, aarumugan,'' . Most devotees of Kumaran also revere m ...

and

Shaktism Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, al ...

References

External links

About the festival
{{HinduFestivals, state=collapsed Hindu festivals Tamil festivals Festivals in Tamil Nadu March observances April observances Religious festivals in India Observances held on the full moon