https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Vaikasi_VisakamVaikasi Visakam - Revision history2026-10-29T02:00:49ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vaikasi_Visakam&diff=543338&oldid=prevFredrickGreig: creating pg.2025-09-02T04:07:48Z<p>creating pg.</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Tamil Hindu festival}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2024}}<br />
{{Infobox holiday|<br />
| holiday_name = Vaikasi Visakam<br />
| image = <br />
| caption = <br />
| observedby = [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[Hindus]]<br />
| date = Confluence of [[Visaka]] star in the month of [[Vaikasi]]<br />
| observances = Puja in Murugan temples<br />
| celebrations = [[abhishekam]], [[kavadi]]<br />
| type = Hindu<br />
| significance = Commemoration of [[Murugan]]'s birth<br />
| scheduling = same day each year as per hindu calendar<br />
| date2024 = 23 May<br />
| date2025 = 9 June<br />
| alt = <br />
| duration = 1 day<br />
| frequency = Annual<br />
}}<br />
{{Kaumaram}}<br />
{{Tamil Festivals}}<br />
'''Vaikasi Visakam''' is a [[Tamils|Tamil]] [[Hinduism|Hindu]] festival. It falls on the day the [[Chandra|moon]] transits the [[Visaka]] [[Nakshatra|nakshatram]] in [[Vaikasi]] (May-June), the second month of the [[Tamil Calendar]].<ref name="India">{{cite book|title=Indian Encyclopedia|author=Subodh Kant|isbn=978-8-177-55257-7|year=2002|publisher=Cosmo Publications|page=7821}}</ref> The festival is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of [[Hindu god]] [[Murugan]].<ref name="TOI">{{cite news|title=Vaikasi Visakam: Date, Time, Significance |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/religion/festivals/vaikasi-visakam-2024-date-time-rituals-and-how-it-is-celebrated/articleshow/110325901.cms|access-date=1 June 2024|newspaper=[[The Times of India]] }}</ref><br />
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== Theology ==<br />
According to the ''[[Skanda Purana|Kanda Puranam]]'' (the Tamil version of the Skanda Purana), three [[asura]]s (a race of celestial beings) [[Śūrapadmā|Surapadman]], Singamukhan and [[Tārakāsura|Tarakasuran]] performed austerities to propitiate the [[Hindu]] god [[Shiva]]. Shiva granted them various boons which gave them near-immortality and the ability to conquer the [[Trailokya|three worlds]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ&dq=Kanda+Puranam+Murugan+Surapadman&pg=PT1190|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|date=18 April 2014 |publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-8-1847-5277-9|page=1190 }}</ref> They subsequently started a reign of tyranny and oppressed the living beings including the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] and other people. The devas pleaded Shiva for his assistance to put an end to the reign of Surapadman and the asuras. In response, Shiva manifested five additional heads and a divine spark emerged from each of the six heads.<ref name="Kanda">{{cite book|title=Sri Kandha Puranam|first=Akilā|last=Civarāman̲|isbn=978-8-1795-0397-3|page=55|publisher=Giri Trading|year=2006}}</ref> Initially, the wind-god [[Vayu]] carried the sparks, but the fire-god [[Agni]] took possession of them afterwards because of the unbearable heat. Agni deposited the sparks in the [[Ganges|Ganga]] river. The water in the Ganga started evaporating due to intense heat, and so the goddess [[Ganga (goddess)|Ganga]] took them to the Saravana lake, where each of the sparks developed into a baby boy.<ref name="Kanda"/> The six boys were raised by [[handmaiden]]s known as the [[Kṛttikā|Kṛttikās]] and they were later fused into one by [[Parvati]], thus giving rise to the six-headed [[Murugan]].<ref>{{cite book|title=God and Science|first=Sridharan|last=T.K.R|isbn=979-8-887-04354-8|publisher=Notion Press|year=2022}}</ref> <br />
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== Practices ==<br />
On the day of the festival, special [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]]s and [[abhishekam]] are performed. Worshipers visit Murugan temples and chant [[mantra]]s. People are offered [[Panchamirtham]] as [[Prasad (food offering)|prasad]] and sweets and other alms are donated to the poor.<ref name="TOI"/><ref name="India"/> The god is taken on a procession in chariots or special mounts.<ref>{{cite book|title=Temples of Forgotten Glory: A Wide Angle Exposition|author=Sekar Venkataraman|year=2019|isbn=978-1-645-87625-0|page=172|publisher=Notion Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/palani/article65521315.ece|title=Vaikasi Visakam celebrated with religious fervour |date=12 June 2022|access-date=1 June 2024|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> Devotees of Murugan carry a ''[[Kavadi Attam|kavadi]]'', which itself is a physical burden as a fulfillment of vow made to the god.<ref name="Belle">{{cite book|title=Thaipusam in Malaysia|first=Carl|last=Vadivella Belle|year=2018|isbn=978-9-814-78666-9|publisher=ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute|page=171, 217-219}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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{{HinduFestivals|state=collapsed}}<br />
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[[Category:Hindu festivals]]<br />
[[Category:Tamil festivals]]<br />
[[Category:Festivals in Tamil Nadu]]<br />
[[Category:May observances]]<br />
[[Category:June observances]]<br />
[[Category:Religious festivals in India]]</div>FredrickGreig