Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Cosmic Dance



The month of Margazhi stands witness to a beautiful cosmic dance by Lord Shiva! Let's celebrate the occasion with a quick snippet (and some delicious 'kali', of course) on Tiruvadirai or Aarudra Darshanam.


*Aarudra Darshanam is a festival celebrated on the full moon day coinciding with the star 'Tiruvadira' or 'Aarudra'in the month of Margazhi. This day is considered very auspicious for Lord Shiva.


*Lord Shiva, in the form of Nataraja, is said to have performed the cosmic dance, the 'ananda tandavam' on this day, along with his consort Goddess Shivakami.


*Festivities abound at the famous temple of Lord Nataraja in Chidambaram, around the Margazhi brahmotsavam conducted for about ten days.


*At homes and at temples of Lord Shiva, devotees recite hymns from the tevaram, tiruvachakam and so forth. A special sweet pudding called ‘kali’ is prepared as an offering to the Lord.


*In Kerala, a Tiruvadira festival is celebrated, which entails a tradition of wearing flower garlands and performing the Tiruvadiraikali or Kaikottikali dances.


*This day is believed to mark the birth anniversary of Saint Tirugnanasambandar and Saint Manikkavachakar in Sirkazhi and Tirupperundurai respectively.


*Several Carnatic music composers including Muttuswami Dikshitar, Gopalakrishna Bharati and Marimutha Pillai have composed soul- stirring songs in praise of Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram.


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Links:


Detailed animated explanations of 'Ananda Natana Prakasham' by Muthuswami Dikshitar


Complete song rendition with lyrics of 'Ananda Natana Prakasham':


A crisp audio-visual presentation on 'Panchabhutalingams in South India':








via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-arts/chen-music/the-cosmic-dance/article4246056.ece

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