Thaipussam and Kavadi

What is Thaipussam?

A special worship day for lord Muruga,Thandhayuthabani, Subramaniam, Karthigeya and the list goes on.Thaipussam is celebrated in the month of Thai during Pourmani (full moon). He is the son of Lord Siva and Parvathi Devi. Thaipussam is celebrated in the 'Aaru Padai Veedu ' the main 6 homes of Lord Karthigeya.




There are 2 versions which leads to Thaipussam.
The first version is when Sain Agasthiyar ordered his faithful student, Idumban to uproot 2 hills called Sivagiri and Sakthigiri. The hills belong to Lord Muruga. To test Idumban, Lord Muruga stood inbetween the 2 hills and this made Idumban angry and attack him. Then Lord Muruga revealed himself and told him that he is pleased with Idumban's courage and faithfullness to his guru Saint Agasthiyar. Lord Muruga gave Idumban the honour of beinghis guardian.That's why till today we usually have Idumban statue in Murugan temples. Since the incident happened during the month of thai and on a full moon it is called Thaipussam. And the kavadi's symbolizes the 2 hills of burden that Idumban shouldered.

The second version is that there was a day where a demon named Tharakasuran was killed by Lord Subramaniya. The demon was troubling the Rishis and the Saints. That's when Lord Siva and Parvathi Devi instructed Lord Subramaniya to kill the demon. That was when Parvathi Devi gave a Vel (spear) to Lord Subramaniya. He also carried 12 weapons along with him. The day he received the Vel from his mother and the death of the demon was another reason for Thaipussam as it happened in the month of Thai and during the full moon.

I think it's the combination of both the incident that happened on the very same day that brought us to Thaipussam.

About Kavadis

There are various types of kavadis. They are in various forms, shapes and sizes. We have pall kavadi, matcha kavadi, paneer kavadi, puspha kavadi, mayil kavadi and many more.But the main purpose is to offer milk to Lord Subramaniya for various individual reasons.

How one should be?

The kavadi bearer is required to observe various rules. My simple suggestions are as below:

• He should be clean at heart and mind.
• Be vegetarian and eat simple food and do not over eat.
• Prayers offered twice or thrice a day depending on your work schedule.
• No drinks, non veg, smoking and other restricted activities.
• Wear simple yellow or orange clean clothes when at home.
• If it is a man you are not allowed to shave or even cut or trim your hair.There is not a big reason for this but it is just to prevent from getting a cut on your body.
• Use a rudraksham or tulasi beads throughout the process.
• You can be a vegetarian for 3 days, 5 days, 7days, 9 days, 18 days, 21 days, 27 days or even 48 days. It is all in your heart and mind.
• Always have something light food before you pray. This is to avoid hunger during prayers. It makes your mind to divert during prayers.
• Make sure the 3rd day after Thaipussam, just make an archanai for Idumban and thanking him for his guidance throughout the preparation for Thaipussam.

So I hope you gathered some simple information from what I have provided.
Thank you very much to Sooriaraja Chinniah for posting me this question. Hope you have got some info and please share this with your friends.

With lots of Love,

Shakthi Sathyanarayana