Sivalaya Ottam (

Tamil Language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

:சிவாலய ஓட்டம்) (

Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

:ശിവാലയ ഓട്ടം) is a ritual marathon undertaken by the devotees to the 12 Siva shrines in the district of Kanyakumari on the day of

Sivarathri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...

. From 2014 onwards the day was announced as a local holiday for the district.

Ottam route

The Ottam begins at ''Thirumalai'', the first Sivalayam and goes all through the next 10 temples before ending at ''Thirunattalam''.

Rituals

Special pujas will be conducted at temple at ''Thirumalai''. The ritual begin after the devotees taking a holy-dip in the Thamirabharani river at

Munchirai Munchirai is a block or Panchayat Union of Kanyakumari district, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the ...

, the first Sivalayam. The participants wear saffron robes, hold a palm-leaf fan on their hand and chant the mantra '' "Govinda... Gopaala..." '' all through the whole day of running. The pilgrims receive the holy ashes, ''"Thiruneer"'' from all the eleven temples. The purpose for the pilgrimage is believed to be fulfilled only by receiving the Sandal-paste from the final ''Sankaranarayanar Temple'' at Thirunattalam. After this, it is also told that a worship at Adi Kesava Temple at

Thiruvattar Thiruvattar is a panchayat town in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. About the town This town is situated north-east of Marthandam and north-west of Nagercoil. The two main rivers Pahrali River and Kothai surround the ...

nearby is also very useful after this ceremony. The objective of the pilgrimage is to uphold that Siva 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 ...

are both the manifestations of one supreme being. Before, the devotees observes a one-week fast. tender coconut and tender palmyra in the day time and

tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulsi'' or ''tulasi'', is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian ...

-water at night are the only food items taken by the devotees during the

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

days.

References

*http://www.hindudevotionalblog.com/2012/02/story-of-sivalaya-ottam.html *http://sivalayaottam.blogspot.in/p/history.html

Citations

Hindu practices Hinduism in Tamil Nadu Hinduism in Kerala Hindu rituals {{Hinduism-stub ta:சிவாலய ஓட்டம்

Ottam route

Rituals

See also

References

Citations