Madurai Chithirai Festival-5

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MADURAI CHITIRAI FESTIVAL -5
KAL ALAGAR VAIGAI AATRIL,KAALAI VAIKKUM NALLA NAALIL........
Madurai never sleeps on ordinary days. Throught night people all over the nation reach and stay and pass across the city. Madurai is the gateway for the entire southern part of Tamilnadu and Kerala states.
It is called as ''thoongaa nagaram''...the sleepless city. At midnight 1 a.m one can taste hot Idlies, chatny or any non veg items all around the city. The central market and bazars are crowded with merchants.
There is no need to say about Chitirai festival especially the night before Chitirai poornima day. News papers and radio talks and forecast about the various events, venues and exact time when Alagar comes down to Vaigai river bank to start the climax of Chitirai festival. No space--no sleep--no sadness.
Let us see what happens inside Prasana Venketasa Perumal temple.
Alagar will be given a warm welcome by Vemketasa perumal. Alagar will take his dinner with him. Then he rest behind a large screen. He is taken out from the palanquin and placed on a golden altar for a long sacred bath. Milk, ghee, tender coconut, oil, curd, sandal paste, turmeric water, essence water, honey, herbal water will be poured on him.
Special water tanks are brought from Alagar malai. The water to bath Him is always from a special spring called Nuupura ganga.It is located at the top of Alagar malai. If we pour any other water, the idol will turn black.
Then Alagar takes a long rest. Near to dawn, the poojari get into trans and opens a big wooden box.
BOX FULL OF FORTUNES:
The wooden box has various colour clothes. The poojari in trans choose a cloth. The colour of the cloth depicts the fortune of the year. Then that cloth will be offered to Alagar.The idol is decorated with that cloth.
Now the temple announces the mass about the colour of the cloth. Then the entire state gets announced with the colour through the media.
green--fertile
blue-good monsoon
red-natural disasters
yellow-normal life
Now it is the time for Alagar to start his divine, long, enjoyable journey into Madurai. Again the devotees shout, screem and dance. The crowd plays varieties of instruments. All over the city ''GOVINDHA '' nama overflows with devotion.
There comes out Kal Alagar...........
He is seated on a big golden horse. Two legs are resting on the shoe rest. He holds a long spear in his right hand. His left hand holds the horse rope. The large diamond crown adorns his head. The shoulders are adorned with SreeAandaal's garlands.
*Aandaal---see Thirupaavai articles.
SreeAandaal from Sreevilliputhur[72 k.m south to Madurai] sends her garland for Alagar. Alagar waits for her garland and when it reaches the temple ,it is offered to Alagar.
The garland symbolize the jeevathman. Aandaal has surrendered her soul to him.
Now Alagar is slowly reaching the Vaigai river bank through the main road of Goripalayam area. There is no place even to stand.
Alagar enters into the crowd and moves towards Vaigai river. The river is dry in summer. But sometimes it is supplied with artificial water flow in a small area. Often Vaigai dam supplies water for this festival. But the water level is very very low. The river is flooded not with water, but with people.
When Aalagar enters into Vaigai, people scream with ''Govindha'' namam and the procession begins. Alagar will be received by Vijayaragava perumal and SreeKoodal Alagar .Slowly poojas will be done to all the three Gods. Tamilnadu state government offers special mantakapadi and poojas to Alagar.
Slowly Alagar moves into the city along the left bank of Vaigai . Many residential areas, colonies, slums invite him and enjoys the festival. He is the only God who visits all the sluggish slums and poor people.
By mid noon he reaches Ramarayar mantabham for lunch and short rest. There happens the most famous ''Theerth vaari''.1000s of devotees pump the sacred water on him and do this ritual. It will be like the summer showers.
Then Alagar proceeds to many areas. The local news papers, tv and radio often announces his journey map and timings .In all venues people wait to receive him. The festival continues till midnight by which he reaches Vandiyuur Mariamman temple. [Alagar's sister is Parvathydevi. She is called as Yogamaya in Krishnaavatharam and in this yugam she is named as Maari amman]
There he gets down from the horse and take sacred bath and completely gets smeared with sandal paste. It is very very rare to see him in this darshan, so lakhs of Madurai people gather and see him all over the night.
Next day night he shows all his 10 avatharams from 6 p.m till dawn and then proceeds to a village called Thaenoor on Garuda mount. He completes his task of visiting Madurai. There in Vaigai river he blesses a sage called Sudhapas.
Sudhapas story:
Sudhapas was a great saint meditating in the pond near Alagar malai inside the water .Durvasa mahamuni came to see him and he did not realise that. So Durvasa got angry and cursed him to become a frog., who lives without knowing the outer world. Then he said that Alagar will relive him from the curse in Vaigai river. So Sudhapas came to Thaenoor and started his penance. Alagar also accepted his bakthy and came to that place and blessed him.
So Alagar on Garuda will be taken to the river and a clay model of a frog will be placed befor Alagar. Then poojas will be done and Alagar starts back his long journey.
There is also a legend that he is visiting Madurai to see his sister Meenakshi's wedding. But on the way he was got hold by his devotees and missed the wedding.
Alagar 's Madurai visit is one of the world's greatest festival which binds many minds and teach us many spiritual lessons.
Lets us enjoy at least once. The festival usually falls on May month. All Tamil calendars will show us the date and events.
Let us visit Madurai this year and enjoy the Chitirai festival.
thanking you!!!