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| Mahadev temple.KaviyoorTemple,Main Entranceen.wikipedia.or |
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| Kaviyoor Mahadevar temple. Kerala Tourism Guide |
Hindu festivals are an occasion for rejoice and a chance to express our gratitude to the almighty. for prosperity, welfare and providing copious rain for agricultural operation, etc. From social integration point of view, such festivals bring people of all casts from different communities to one place and make them work in unison to make festivals a success. It promotes social intercourse , integration and unity among the people for a common purpose. Besides, days-long festivals provide an opportunity for young people to show their talents in traditional Indian dances, classical music, etc. The temple festivals give job opportunities to plenty of middle class people who have close link with the temples. They are the torch bearer of Indian tradition and culture that have been with us for centuries without any break and, further, they keep the Indian fine arts, dances, music, etc., alive.
Kerala, often called 'God's Own Country', has a large number of Hindu temples and many have unique religious and cultural traditions. Many temple festivals are held on specific days of the year and others usually continue for a number of days. The striking feature of Kerala temple festival is the procession of of idols (Urchavar) on caparisoned elephants often accompanied by traditional music such as Panchari melam or Panchavadyam. The latter is quite common in many Hindu temples of Kerala.
Festivals of Kaviyoor Mahadev temple:
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| Sivaratri festival in a Kerala temple iveminer.com |
Once this temple, it is believed, celebrated 16 annual festivals. But as of now the main Annual festivals are less than what it used to be. The following may be worth mentioning:
Panthrantu kalabham for Hanuman in Chingam Kanni ( July),
Ayilyam (September) for Serpent gods,
Thiruvuthsavam (Annual festival- December–January) for Shiva and Parvathi,
Hanumath Jayanthi for lord Hanuman (December–January),
Uthrittathi Attathirunal (January) for the consort of Shiva,
Sivarathri ( February–March), Kalabhaabhishekam (April) and Sahsrakalasam (May–June).
Panthrantu Kalabham: This festival was first introduced in 1951 for Lord Hanuman as wished by Maharajah Sri Chithira Thirunal Balaramavarma. This is done in memory of the renovation and upgrading of the Hanuman Temple by the ruler. This 12 day festival starts on the first day of Malayalam month Chingam and ends on the twelfth day.
Ayilyam: It falls in the Malayalam month Kanni and is for the serpent gods - Nagarajah and Nagayakshini. This festival is observed here as countless devotees who come to the temple also pray to the Serpent stone idols installed on the temple premises. Childless couples participate in this temple festival.
Thiruvuthsavam: This main festival of Lord Mahadeva is held on a grand scale in the Malayalam month of Dhanu (December- January) and is being attended by thousands of devotees from all over the central Travancore region. This ten-day colorful festival is a popular one. Utsavabali, Seva, Pallivetta are the other parts of the festival. Devotees decorate the temple with colourful lights, candles and flowers.
From the second day to the sixth day the lord's idol atop caparisoned elephant is taken to those temples associated with this temple. Temple rituals are held only inside the temple premises from the 7th day onward. The tenth day event is an important one. The Urchavar idols of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi are taken in a colorful procession to the Manimala river for Arat.
Hanumath jayanthi: It falls in the Malayalam month Dhanu (December–January) and is a popular festival dedicated to lord Hanuman (Anjanayar). This festival also attracts thousands of devotees. The main offering is Vada mala and devotees offer it with prior arrangement. Aval Panthirunazhi is yet another offering here. Hanuman stands for valor, wisdom and good health. Worshiping him on this day is good for your physical and mental well being.
Uthrittathi Thirunal: It is held in the month of Makaram (January–February) in memory of the consecration of the Sri Moolarajeswary idol
(Parvati). Maharajah Sri Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma of Travancore in 1893 AD had the idol consecrated.
Shivarathri: This important festival is celebrated in Malayalam month of Kumbham (February–March). It is associated with various rituals as in other Shiva temples.
This temple has a huge oil lamp stand- Velakku Madam. The tradition has it that all oil lamps in the velakku madam should be lit on certain festival days. Vilakkezhunnellippu is a unique custom of the festival. The 8000 lamps on the wall of the Nalambalam are lit by seven desams of Kaviyoor and Kunnamthanam villages. It is an amazing sight that enhances the sanctity of this place of worship. Whole night there will be puja to the main deity which is done four times by the priest. On the temple premises, there will musical discourse of stories from the Puranas, etc. This is just a one day festival ending in the following morning.
Sahasra Kalasam: This festival is for 10 days. The main event of this festival is abhishekam (anointing) and is done to the main deity with 100 pots among which one is gold pot, 10 are silver pots and the rest are copper pots. This is done at devotees' request.
Thulabharam Offering: This is common on festival days at some temples. Tulaparam offering is made by some devotes who offer food grains, vegetables, etc., equal to their body weight. This is done for various reasons to succeed in business, to pass exams, to get a child, etc. Tulaparam offering is made either before or after their wish is granted by the lord. In those days, rich people would make gold and silver coins or jewelry as offering to the lord for success in their endeavor or in any other matter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaviyoor_Mahadevar_Temple
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