Karthika month is the most auspicious month in Telugu calender. In this month we offer prayers to both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. In this month we offer prayers to god by following shower with cold water, light lamps, charities and fasting. We do fasting on Mondays, ekadashi and on the most auspicious day of this month Karthika pournami. There are two significant festivals in this month, one is ksheerabdhi dwadashi and the second one is Karthika pournami. Ksheerabdhi dwadashi is 12th lunar day, we offer prayers to Tulasi plant.
Karthika pournami is a full moon day , this is most auspicious, sacred and extremely powerful day (this year it was on Thursday, 10th Nov). On this day in the evening timings we lit lamps in Shiva and Vishnu temples. We make the small lamps with rice flour or wheat flour and pour cow ghee or sesame oil in that we place a wick and light the lamps. After pooja we do donations to Brahmins or scholars. In this month it is good to donate clothes to poor people. This practice is considered as good one irrespective of day or month, but ancestors have told us to do in this month because this falls in November, it is when the winter season starts. So offering clothes to poor people will help them to have better clothing in winter season.
Karthika pournami is my fav day in the whole year. This year I celebrated this festival in Bangalore. My day started at 3:50 am, I cleaned home and took shower by 4:15 am. I meditated for more than an hour, later I went to Shiva temple. In temple priests performed rudrabhishekam to Lord shiva, Rudrabhishekam is nothing but a regular abhishekam where priests chant the sacred veda mantras (rudra namakam - Chamakam) while doing abhishekam. I returned home once the pooja in temple was over. I have beautiful idols of Shiva and Balaji (a form of god Vishnu). I performed abhishekam to those idols at my home.
In the evening I lit lamps, did pooja, read karthika puranam and offered mangala harathi to lord shiva and vishnu at home. Then I cooked coconut rice and Gulab-jamun, offered it to Lord Shiva in temple and later distributed to the devotees. In the mean I lit lamps in temple as well. I made those lamps using wheat flour, rice flour and rangoli color. To make them soft and easily mouldable, I added some oil to the flour. This way I made some 70 colored lamps and some 50 flour lamps.
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| Before I lit the Lamps |
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| After I lit the lamps |
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| SOOC |
Hope you guyz had a wonderful karthika pournami as well. I close this post with a small mantra
Shivaya Vishnu Roopaya
Shiva Roopaya Vishnave
Shivasya Hrudayam Vishnoh
Vishnoscha Hrudayam Shivaha
Om namah shivaya!
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