Ārāttu (Template:IPA-ml) is a ritual performed during Hindu temple festivals in Kerala, India, in which the priest bathe the idol of the deity in a nearby river or a temple tank. It is mainly carried out at the end of the temple festival. Ārāttu is celebrated twice annually—the spring festival (March - April) and the autumn festival (October - November). A festival is normally 10 days long.[1]
Major festivals
One of the important Arattu in Kerala is conducted at Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram by Travancore royal family, procession is carried out to Shankumugham Beach for the ceremony.[2][3] The operations at the Trivandrum International Airport stops twice a year for the procession to pass through the runway to the Shankumugham Beach.[4] At Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Swamy Temple, the festival starts with a flag hoisting, after bathing the deities, ambalappuzha palpayasam (a sweet pudding) is offered to the gods.[1] The eight-day long festival at Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple, Thrippunithura is concluded with an aaraattu.[5]
In popular culture
A 1979 Malayalam film directed by I. V. Sasi was titled Aarattu, and a 2021 film directed by B. Unnikrishnan also use the same title, both the films are otherwise unrelated to the ritual.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Want to experience Kerala in its full glory? Aarattu festival is the answer. The Times of India(11 March 2019). Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ↑ Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple: The bond has only grown stronger. The Hindu(29 August 2020). Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ↑ Arattu at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple 2013
- ↑ This Kerala airport halts flights to make way for ‘God’. The Indian Express(14 November 2018). Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ↑ After Covid lockdown, festival days return to Tripunithura. The New Indian Express(15 November 2020). Retrieved 15 November 2020.
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