The Significance of Purattasi Month

The Significance of Purattasi Month

Article I

Purattasi is one of the auspicious tamil months, usually begins in the English month of September. It is the sixth month in a Tamil calendar and is dedicated to God Perumal (Lord Venkateswara).

Purattasi masam is the masam in which full moon normally occurs either on Poorattadhi/Uttirattadhi stars. Puratasi Masam is of great importance to Tamilians as it is believed that Lord Venkateswara appeared on the earth in this month. Lord Vishnu devotees consider Purattasi as the ideal month for thanking Lord Vishnu for preserving the Universe at the end of Kali Yuga. Devotees gather in large number at Lord Vishnu temples and special prayers are offered and flags with Garuda emblem are hoisted.

Purattasi Vrat is observed by Devotees of Lord Venkateswara. Some people observe partial fasting on all days in Puratassi others limit it to Puratasi Saturdays. A few observe strict fast on Saturdays which involves not even drinking a drop of water is called Nirjala Vratam. Some devotees only eat vegetarian food during the entire month. They also quit smoking and consuming alcohol for one month. On Purattasi Saturdays, Namum, the two feet symbol of Lord Vishnu’s feet, is drawn on the forehead by males and women opt for a red dot. Hymns dedicated to Lord Vishnu are chanted and Mavilakku offered to the God.

It is also believed that Lord Shani looses his powers in Puratasi month, so it is easy to escape from his malefic influences. Devotees offer Ghee or Ellu Lamp to Lord Shani in the month. Navagrahas are also worshipped in the month.

Also there is a huge list of important festivals like Durga Navaratri, Saraswati poojai, and Vijayadhasami celebrated in the month of Purattasi.

Thousands of people throughout the world go on to pilgrimage to the Thirumalai Hills in Thirupati, in south India during this period to seek the blessings of the Supreme Lord.

This fast is an abstinence of eating meat, smoking, consuming alcohol, some even do not sleep with their spouse and sleep on the floor, clean pots were no meat was cooked are used and so forth. Many faithfuls just have one meal for the day while others give up their favourite foods in dedication to the Supreme Lord. This fast should not be like a torturous burden. The abstinence increases one’s will power and concentration to be able to pray to the Supreme lord even more faithfully. By fasting impurities are decreased and purity is increased which is so essential in the attainment of the Supreme Lord. The benefits are inconceivable if the fast is properly observed.

Article II

The Saturdays of this month are considered sacred. Among Hindu communities, even those who normally eat meat abstain from it either for the entire month or at least on Saturdays. A lamp made of rice flour and other ingredients is filled with ghee and lit for Vishnu, specifically for the deity in Tirupati. Later, the dough is distributed and eaten as an offering.

Nine days of this month are celebrating as Navaratri, a very popular festival among all Hindus, but particularly Brahmins. The highlight of the festival is a display of clay dolls on wooden steps coverts with a white cloth. The floor space around is used for creating thematic displays that put the ingenuity of the women of the house to test. This is essentially a festival for the women and dedicated to the three female deities of the Hindu pantheon – Lakshmi, Saraswati and Pravati/Durga.

Old-times recall the magnificent golu (doll display) in the housed of famous personalities. Children, especially girls dressed in colorful costumes, set out to invite the women of neighboring homes. Each day, during the festival, has its own special food preparation.

Preparation for the festival starts a month earlier more so if the dolls used are not clay but Gowri dolls. These dolls, rarely used now, are designed so that the limbs can be set to any position and, thus, every year new tableaux are created, The popularity of golu declined in the 1980s but there has been a revival of late. Cashing in on this are frequent ‘best golu’ competitions hosted by TV channels. Institutions such as banks, hotels (especially the restaurants serving South Indian cuisine) and even petrol bunks get into the act with their own golus.

The ninth or tenth day of the festival is dedicated to Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning. Special poojas are performed for the implements a person uses in his or her work – be they machines in manufacturing industries or desktop in the software industry. Offices remain closed that day; and on the next day, on Vijayadasami , they are ceremonially open a start work a fresh. This is also a preferred day to commence Aksharabyasam – the formal initiation into learning for children.

The nine days are marked in the Kapali and Parthasarathi Temples with daily processions of the idol of the goddess. In the Parthasarathi Temple, there is a special procession for a meeting of the deity with that of Peyalva, the saint who was born in Mylapore. The Srinivasa Perumal Temple celebrates a ten-day Uthsavam in honour of Vedanta Desikar, the preceptor for the Vadakalai sub-sect of Vaishnavites. The festival ends with the deity dressed like a hunter.

The Bengali community call this festival Durga Pooja, and conduct it in their own style through the many associations they have in the city.

Source: Madras, Chennai: A 400-year Record of the First City of Modern India, Volume 1