Uthsavar

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Uthsavar
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Festive image of Abirameswarar temple
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See also: Utsava

Uthsavar or Utsavar is derived from the Sanskrit word, Utsavam, a festival predominantly referring to Hindu religion. In Hinduism, it is referred to the festival deity's moorthi usually taken during temple festival processions. Utsavar moorthis are generally made of metal,[1] and Moolavar murthi is usually made of stone. Ablution is performed on the Uthasavar images during daily prayer or during festivals. It is performed in a sequence with various material like milk, curd, honey and sugar. These are meant to indicate five elemental aspects of earth and with the ablution, prayers are sought to please the five natural elements.

The festive images are carried out in various palanquins or mounts with figures of peacock, elephant, Garuda or large chariots. There are special festivals like Theerthavari, Garuda Sevai and Sapthastanam when the festival deities of many temples are taken in chariots or vehicles to the main temple in the region. Devotees perform various rituals on the festive deities.

Tradition[]

Uthasavar image on a mount

The metal images of Uthsavar or the Uthsava moorthis are usually placed in the sanctum sanctorum during the day time of worship. During the last worship practice, called Ardhajamam, in South Indian temples, there is a lengthy proceeding with sacred verses praising the deities are recited. The Utsava deities are carried in palanquins, after which the doors of the sanctum are shut. The utsava deities are taken to a decorated room, anointed with sandal paste and decorated with silk and after the proceedings, the milk offered to the deities are given to the devotees. Some of the Shiva temples have swings designed for the images while some have rooms decorated with mirrors.[2] During the Kumbabhishekam or the coronation event, the temple is renovated while the Moolavar image is moved to a temporary location. The practice is called Balalayam, during which the festival image takes precedence.[3]

Images and maintenance[]

These utsavars are usually made of bronze and stored in the respective shrines of the deities. Panchaloha (Sanskrit Devanagari: पञ्चलोह; IAST: pañcaloha) (also called Panchaloham - literally, "five metals") is a term for traditional five-metal alloys of sacred significance used for making Hindu temple icons. The tradition started from the Chola era from the 7th century and continues during the modern era.[4] The ablution on the Utsavar image is performed in a sequence with various material like milk, curd, honey and sugar. These are meant to indicate five elemental aspects of earth and with the ablution, prayers are sought to please the five natural elements.[5]

Festivals[]

Most of the historic South Indian cities like Madurai, Srirangam, Sirkali, Thiruvarur and Chidambaram were built around large temples in the center of the city. The streets of the city act as extension of the prakarams of the temple. These squares retain their traditional names of Aadi, Chittirai, Avani-moola and Masi streets, corresponding to the Tamil month names and also to the festivals associated.[6] The temple prakarams and streets accommodate an elaborate festival calendar in which dramatic processions circumambulate the shrines at varying distances from the centre. The temple chariots used in processions are progressively larger in size based on the size of the concentric streets.[7] Ancient Tamil classics record the temple as the centre of the city and the surrounding streets.[8] The city's axes were aligned with the four-quarters of the compass, and the four gateways of the temple provided access to it. The wealthy and higher echelons of the society were placed in streets close to the temple, while the poorest were placed in the fringe streets.[6] The festive images are carried out in various palanquins or mounts with figures of peacock, elephant, Garuda or large chariots. There are special festivals like Theerthavari, Garuda Sevai and Sapthastanam when the festival deities of many temples are taken in chariots or vehicles to the main temple in the region. Devotees perform various rituals on the festive deities.[9][10]

References[]

  1. ^ Baldev Raj, C. Rajagopalan, C. V. Sundaram. Where gods come alive: a monograph on the bronze icons of South India.
  2. ^ Flueckiger, Joyce Burkhalter (2015). Everyday Hinduism. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. p. 106-7 – via ProQuest Ebook Central.
  3. ^ Chandran, Saravanan (2017). எக்ஸ்டஸி. Kizhakku. p. 75. ISBN 9788184938616.
  4. ^ Varghese, Alexander P. (2008) [2008]. India : History, Religion, Vision And Contribution To The World. Chennai: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd. p. 53. ISBN 978-81-269-0903-2.
  5. ^ Marga, Bhakti (13 May 2019). Maha Lakshmi: The Secret of Prosperity. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 97. ISBN 9783963430343.
  6. ^ a b King, Anthony D. (2005). Buildings and Society: Essays on the Social Development of the Built Environment. Taylor & Francis e-library. ISBN 978-0-203-48075-5.
  7. ^ Selby, Martha Ann; Peterson, Indira Viswanathan (2008). Tamil geographies: cultural constructions of space and place in South India. New York: State University of New York Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-7914-7245-3.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Holly Baker; Bardwell, Smith (1987). The city as a sacred center: essays on six Asian contexts: Annual meetings. BRILL. p. 18. ISBN 978-90-04-08471-1.
  9. ^ "'Sapthasthanam' festival begins". The Hindu. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  10. ^ Venkatraman, Sekar (2019). Temples of Forgotten Glory: A Wide Angle Exposition. Notion Press. pp. 182, 205. ISBN 9781645876250.

External links[]

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