Aaraattu

Ārāttu (pronounced [aːraːʈʈə]) 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]

Ārāttu at Arattupuzha Pooram
Bathing the idol at an ārāttu
An ārāttu mandapam at Shankumugham Beach
Ārāttu at temple tank of Veerabhadra temple, Kasaragod

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]

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. Times Travel Editor (11 March 2019). "Want to experience Kerala in its full glory? Aarattu festival is the answer". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  2. Bayi, Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi (29 August 2020). "Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple: The bond has only grown stronger". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. Arattu at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple 2013
  4. "This Kerala airport halts flights to make way for 'God'". The Indian Express. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  5. "After Covid lockdown, festival days return to Tripunithura". The New Indian Express. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.


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