Thursday, September 23, 2010

Sivalaya Ottam

Posted by Raja Sekhar On 9:17 AM 2 comments
This is a religious festival in Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, India. In South India, the place around Kalkulam Taluk was part of the erstwhile Thiruvithancore state. The capital of this state was Padmanabhapuram. Around this town there are twelve nice abodes of Lord shiva inviting the devotees to worship the Lord Who is adorned by the nature - moon, river & snakes, in this inspiring natural surroundings.

Sivalaya Ottam, literally  means running from one Siva temple to another. The devotees take up a run during the Sivaratri every year. In this day, they worship in all the twelve temples covering a distance of 50 miles in a day. They start the marathon run from Thirumala Mahadevar temple and complete the run in Thirunattalam Mahadevar temple. They run holding a palm-leaf fan in their hand. They observe fast for a week before the day of the run. During the fasting period they eat tender coconut, tender palmyra (Nungu) during the day and tulsi and water in the night. Many of them chant Govindha Gopala while running.


Site search

    Blogger news

    Blogroll

    About