They prepare themselves by sacrificing the pleasures and luxuries and leading a simple life. Its also a form of sacrifice for Lord Murugan. As the devotees face these things they attain purification and removal from evil thoughts and actions. Sleeping on the floor and not using the luxuries.Īfter doing these things the person must maintain a 24 hour fast a day before the day of the festivals.Refraining from indulging in any form of desire or pleasure.Abstinence from any form of sexual activity.Thinking and praying to the god all the time.Refraining from any kind of intoxicating drug or alcohol.To attain that purification they follow rules which are as follows. They have to rid themselves of all the mental and physical impurities. The preparation starts 48 days before the festival. It also helps them in getting over the obstacles and difficulties that they will face in their life.īefore the devotees can do Kadavi they have to follow certain rules and prepare themselves for it. By completing this walk the devotees feel a sense of satisfaction and spiritual awakening in their lives. Kavadi is a ceremonial walk of sacrifice and burden and ends at the temple of Lord Murugan. So on this day anyone who carries Kavadi (weight signifying the two hills) on their shoulder to the temple of Lord Murugan received his blessings. But Murugan showed mercy and revived Idumban who then became his greatest devotee. He (Murugan) had been the one to increase the weight of the hills. During the fight Idumban realised that the boy was none other than Lord Murugan. This annoyed Idumban and a fight broke out between him and the boy. The boy refused saying that the hills belonged to him. As he was trying to pick up the hills he saw a boy before him and sought his help. After sometime he got up to resume his journey and was unable to move the hills as they had become too heavy. After covering half of the journey he put down the beam with the hills to take rest. He then carried the beam on his shoulder. The disciple used a beam and attached the two hills on each end. The Sage asked his disciple Idumban to carry the hills to their destination. The legend behind this ritual is that Lord Shiva had given two hills – Shivagiri hill and Shaktigiri hill to Sage Agastya and asked him to place it in south India. Another famous ritual performed on this day is the ‘Kavadi’. Also, Lord Murugan is placed on a silver chariot and a procession takes place on this day. The also cover him and adorn him in clothes made of these colors. Therefore, this day is celebrated as a victory of good over evil. On this day the devotees of Lord Murugan offer him fruits and flowers that are yellow of orange in color as these are his favourite colors. He was able to defeat Tharakasura and destroy the asuras with this weapon and emerged victorious. 11 of them were given to him by Lord Shiva and one weapon that is the ‘Vel’ or ‘Holy Lance’ was given to him by Mother Parvati. It is believed that on this day Lord Murugan set of to destroy Tharakasuran who had been creating a lot of trouble for the priests and saints. The Story of Thai Poosam – Victory of Good Over Evil He is the son of Shiva and Goddess Parvati and is also known as Karthikeya. This festival is dedicated to Lord Murugan.
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It is celebrated in the Tamil month of Thai (January – February) on a full moon day and the day of the star Poosam. Thai Poosam is a festival celebrated by the Hindus who live in the south as well as various other countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and South Africa.