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| Anna abhishekam, Thanjavur Big temple, Tamil Nadu. Vikatan com |
Abhishekam ( from Sanskrit ) simply means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered."It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid, etc., offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhiṣeka is common to Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.. It is an important Hindu temple ritual and is performed by the temple priests by way of bathing the deity with holy water, sandal paste, milk, sugar cane juice, Panchamiritham ( a blend of five fruits with honey) etc., and it is common among the Shiva temples across South India. Anointing is also done by bathing the deity with ''Annam'' - cooked rice as in the case of Shivalinga ( the phallic symbol of energy; an abstract or aniconic representation of God Shiva in Shaivism). It is periodically done in countless temples dedicated to God Shiva across the land. The entire deity is fully covered with cooked rice. with fine decorations consisting of an assortment of fruits and vegetables.
Considered as a divine ritual, tradition has been that Abhishekam is normally performed on the Full Moon day in the Tamil month of Aippasi (mid-October to mid-November). On this particular day, the Sun comes closer to the earth , hence the Moon is brighter than other Full Moon days. The abhishekam done on the evening of this particular day is more significant than other full moon days . Also known as Maha Anna Abhishekam, lots of people visit the Shiva temple to witness this holy ritual which is symbolic of prosperity and welfare of the society. Because of Covid -19 pandemic, only limited people are allowed into the temple to witness this ritual. .
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| Milk abhishekam to Shivalinga. you tube. |
Among the different kinds of charity, Anna Dhanam - feeding the people with free food is the most satisfying and significant one. The receiver of Anna Dhanam can not demand more food once his stomach is full. On the contrary, if you donate money, the one at the receiving end will never get satisfied with the money donated to him, The abhisekha food is offered to the animals as well.. Abhishekam is a way of expressing our gratitude to the almighty for providing us plenty of food, rain , etc. Yet another reason is the production agricultural products like rice, wheat need five natural elements. God Shiva, being an embodiment of Panchaboothas - five important elements of Nature for our sustenance, cocked rice is widely used for abhishekam. The Panchaboothas are fire ( Agni/energy) from the Sun, water (Jalam) from the sky (Akash) and earth (prithvi) from where we get grains, vegetables and fruits. The sown seed in the soil grows as paddy, etc because of the optimal cyclic operation of these various natural elements. If any one of the elements is missing or operates beyond the limit, the food production will be disturbed. God Shiva in the form of Shivalinga is a religious symbol in Hinduism as the generative power all of existence, all creativity and fertility at every cosmic level. This ritual is done to the God to express our gratitude to him and his sustained efforts to feed the living things on the planet.
On the 30th of October, 2020 Anna Abhishekam was done at famous temple like Thanjavur Brihadeeswara temple and Gangaikonda Cholapuram (in Ariyalur Dist,). It is said that about 1000 kg of cooked rice was used for Annaabhishekam and the pasd was distributed among the devotees and others. The temple management allowed limited devotees to participate in the ritual in view of Covid Pandemic that is slowly on the decline in that part of Thanjavur District. . .
