Soorasamharam
| Soorasamharam | |
|---|---|
 Lord Murugan(kartikeya) | |
| Also called | Kanda Shashti |
| Observed by | Tamil Hindus |
| Type | Hindu |
| Significance | Victory of good over evil |
| Date | kārtika māsa, śukla pakṣa, ṣaṣṭhī tithi (falls in Aippasi or Kartigai month of Tamil calendar) |
| 2021 date | 9 Nov (Tue) |
| 2022 date | 30 Oct (Sun) |
| 2023 date | 18 Nov (Sat) |
| Frequency | Annual |
Hindu festival dates The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day). Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. Iff a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa. A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar. | |
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Sooranporu or Soorasamharam part of Skanda Sashti Vratham festival is a ritual folk performance that recreates the killing of Asuras by Lord Murugan.[1] It is performed in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Lanka and the district of Palakkad in Kerala at temples dedicated to Murugan. The Soorasamharam festival is also celebrated in Thiruvannur Subramanya Swami temple in Kozhikode District kerala for more than a century in the name Sooranpada.[1][2] In the year 2021, the festival will be celebrated on 9th November 2021.[3]
The date of Soorasamharam is fixed using the lunar portion of the Hindu lunisolar calendar and is celebrated on kārtika māsa, śukla pakṣa, ṣaṣṭhī tithi. Since the Tamil calendar months are based on the solar portion of the Hindu calendar, this festival falls in the month of either Aippasi or Karthigai in the Tamil calendar.[4]
The Sooranporu performance is based on the story of Murugan, also known as Skanda, as given in the Skandapurana. In the days preceding the performance the Skandapaurana is narrated in the temple. The performance ends with the killing of Soorapadman (or Padmasura) and his race which is depicted through the symbolic beheading of the four Asuras Anamughan, Panumughan, Simhamughan and Soorapadman.[1] The Asuras are beheaded by Murugan using his weapon the vel a kind of spear or javelin. For the performance the vel is specially consecrated and during the staging of the show it is ceremonially placed on the neck of the effigy after which the head is removed, depicting the beheading of the Asura.[1][5] Sooranporu is staged at the end of a week-long Kanda Sashti festival.[5][6]
Sooranporu is preceded by several ceremonies on the last day of the Kanda Sashti festival. Special pujas are conducted and the deity of Murugan is ritually anointed (abhishekam) and devotees seek the deity's darshan. In some parts of Tamil Nadu devotees observe a six-day fast which they break at the end of the Sooranporu. In Palani, a procession of Lord Murugan (known here as Dandayuthapaniswamy) is taken down from the hill temple and led through the main thoroughfares of the town before the Sooranporu.[7][8]
At Thiruchendur Murugan Temple, six days celebrations for Kanda Sashti start from Pirathamai of Aippasi Masam culminate on Soorasamharam day. is observed on the next day of Soorasamharam.[4]
Every year temple idol procession is taken out in cities during the festival of Soora Samhaaram. In Tamil Nadu, Sooranporu is witnessed every year by large crowds of devotees and the state government and Indian Railways ply special buses and trains to facilitate their travel.[9] In Kerala's Palakkad district, Sooranporu is held in all the major Tamil settlements in the district.[1]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e "The fall of demons". The Hindu. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "Devotees throng Palani for Soorasamharam". The Hindu. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "Dasara festival: restrictions imposed for devotees". The Hindu. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ a b "2021 Skanda Sashti, Kanda Sashti dates for New Delhi, NCT, India".
- ^ a b "Thousands of devotees witness 'Soorasamharam'". The Hindu. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "'Soorasamharam' performed". The Hindu. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "Dhandapani Murugan Kovil". Tamilnadu.com. 5 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013.
- ^ "Thousands witness 'Soorasamharam'". The Hindu. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "Thousands of devotees witness Soorasamharam". The Hindu. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
External links[]
- Asura
- Religious vernacular drama
- Tamil culture
- Theatre in India
- Hindu traditions
- October observances
- November observances
- Kaumaram
- Festivals in Tamil Nadu