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| Temple at Tirupparankundram thehindu.com |
Every year the annual Karthigai Deepam festival is celebrated on a grand scale at Tirupparankundram Subramaniyaswamy Temple close to Madurai city. It is one of the six popular abodes of God Muruga.
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| Temple at Tirupparankundram dinakaran.com/ |
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| karthigai deepam 2022 Thiruparam kundram, copper vessels. maalaimalar.com |
The highlight of the festival, lighting of ‘Maha Deepam’ atop the hill is to be held on December 6. During the festivities special pujas and abhishekams are done to the deities and thousands of devotees in and around this place will visit the temple.
Maha deepam will be lit up in a huge copper vessel (in Tamil Koppirai), which is filled with ghee a wick at the center. The vessel (cauldron) is a huge one - four and a half feet high and two and a half feet wide and about 300 kg to 350 of ghee will be used in the vessel. Normally, the wick is made of 150 meters of cotton cloth that will absorb the ghee and let the flame go for a long time. Along with it 5 (five ) kg of camphor will be used to light up the lamp which will be burning for three days.
In all Hindu houses here the earthen oil lamps will be lit after Maha Deepam atop the Arunachala hill at Thiruvannamalai and at Thiruparamkundram atop the temple. In the latter place the Mahadeepam stand is near the Vinayagar temple where the deepam will be lit. This being due to the presence of mosque near the temple on the hill.
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