Ārdra Darśanam Mahotsavam at Cidambaram
The annual Ārdra Darśanam Festival (Mahotsava in Sanskrit, Tiruvāturai in Tamil) is held at Cidambaram in honor of the Ārdra star. It falls during the longest night of the year, in the Tamil month of Mārkaḷi (December/ January). The constellation of Orion and surrounding stars is bathed in the soft glow of the full moon when it is high in the sky at Chidambaram. A thousand years ago, devoid of the present smog and light flares, the stars must have been even brighter in the tropical night sky. The festival, which is one of the two foremost events of the year (the other, called Āṇi, taking place in June/July), is believed to commemorate Śiva’s birthday in his form of Naṭarāja, the “King of Dancers.”
The Sanskritic world, with its astonishingly rich literary traditions, has always been aware of the inextricably intertwined relationship existing between “text” (śāstra) and its “practical implementation” (prayoga). As Sheldon Pollock argues, the extent to which śāstra and prayoga are linked together is such that any attempt to separate these two would be futile. Pollock further argues that the intricate relation between śāstra and prayoga, when understood in terms of “the actual enactment of the knowledge,” sets up a single standard of rationality in Indic cultural practices. Basing his argument largely on specific examples from different textual materials, he shows how the descriptive character of śāstric “knowing that” becomes necessary furnished with prayoga — the prescriptive core of “knowing how.”
The Ārdra Darśanam Mahotsava provides an interesting example of entanglement not only between Sanskritic (represented by the Citsabheśotsavasūtra, an undated Vedic prescriptive manual of the festival ceremony attributed to the Sage Patañjali) and the Tamil (represented by the Tiruvempāvai, a bhakti hymn of the ninth-century saint-poet Māṇikkavācakar) textual traditions, but also between “textuality” and “performance”.
The Sanskritic world, with its astonishingly rich literary traditions, has always been aware of the inextricably intertwined relationship existing between “text” (śāstra) and its “practical implementation” (prayoga). As Sheldon Pollock argues, the extent to which śāstra and prayoga are linked together is such that any attempt to separate these two would be futile. Pollock further argues that the intricate relation between śāstra and prayoga, when understood in terms of “the actual enactment of the knowledge,” sets up a single standard of rationality in Indic cultural practices. Basing his argument largely on specific examples from different textual materials, he shows how the descriptive character of śāstric “knowing that” becomes necessary furnished with prayoga — the prescriptive core of “knowing how.”
One way of looking at the utsavavidhis, or “festival manuals,” is to see them through the prism of a larger festival cultural practice that rose into prominence during the Cōḷa reign. The festivals performed in the temples were directly linked with the personal asterism of the ruler: with either the day of the king’s accession or the day of his natal star. The historical origins of Ārdra Darśanam Mahotsava lie in “Ārdra” — the natal star of Rājendra Cōḷa I. The Ārdra Mahotsava was initially organised in honor of the king as the festival called Rājendra Cōḷa Tirunaḷ, or the Sacred Day of Rājendra . During this festival, drama and dance were performed and the Tiruvempāvai was sung. The Ārdra star also happens to be the asterism of Śiva Naṭarāja. Through sharing the same natal star, the identity of the king was connected to that of the deity, and through this connection the king’s persona acquired both cosmic and divine identity. Similarly, the second annual Naṭarāja festival, known as Āṇi Mahotsava, which is still performed today, was initially associated with the asterism of Uttiraṭṭādi or Uttara Bhādrapada, the natal star of Vikrama Cōḷa.
The two days before the beginning of the actual festival are dedicated to the preliminary pūjās meant for an auspicious beginning, that is: nakṣatra-pūja, Gaṇeśa-pūja, vastuśānti-pūja (meant for appeasement of the surrounding environment), the nandi-śraddhā, the “bull ceremony”, and the sowing of nine types of seeds in an earthen pot (akurārpaṇa) which is believed to ensure the auspiciousness of the entire festival.
On the day of the festival itself, the morning begins with the raising of the flag on the flagpole (dhvajārohaṇa) that stands between the Kanaka Sabha and Nṛtta Sabha. This is a powerful and dramatic moment accompanied by recitations of the mantras and the sounds of drums. The images of the five deities (pañcamūrti) — Śiva in his form of Sōmaskanda, his wife Pārvati, his two sons Murukaṇ and Gaṇeśa, and his beloved devotee Gaṇeśa, who will be taken in procession over the following days — also arrive to celebrate this auspicious moment. The flag banner features the bull Nandin, painted in red on white cloth. A parasol — the symbol of royal sovereignty par excellence — above Nandin’s head, a trident (triśūla) and a ḍamaru are also pictured on the flag.
Another inaugural ceremony to which both the Mahotsavavidhi and the ¸ devote special attention is a drum ceremony (bherī- tādaṇa) or beating the bheri drum. This is basically a consecration of the musical instruments that will accompany the gods going in procession. The inaugural musical concert played in the specific rhythm nāndītāla is believed to bring about the ritual ordering of space. It is accompanied by priests chanting the hymns to the gods of the nine directions: Brahma, Indra, Agni, Yama, Nṛtti, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Soma, and Īśāna. In accordance with textual descriptions, the drum ceremony constitutes an invitation to all deities and all living beings to attend the festival.
The most characteristic feature of the festival practice is the moving of the festival icons of the deity (utsavamūrti) to the public space outside of the temple compound. This dramatic movement of the deity from the sacred to the profane space is constituted by a procession of the five deities mounted atop different vehicles (vāhana), such as goose, bull and elephant, or on chariots. The processional icons of the deities dressed in festive clothes, beautifully ornamented and given offerings of incense, lamps and food, proceed in order (yātrākrama).
The following six days are marked by the procession of Gaṇeśa riding atop a rat, Murukaṇ on a peacock, Gaṇeśa on a bull, and Pārvati on a goose (besides the goose, the Citsabheśotsavasūtra also prescribes a lion and a god as suitable vāhanas for the goddess). As to the main deity, Śiva in his form of Sōmaskanda, the text prescribes the Moon (candra) on the second day, Sun (sūrya) on the third day, Demon (bhūta) on the fourth day, Bull (vṛṣabha) on the fifth day, an elephant (gaja) on the sixth day, and Kailāsa (Kailāsa-vāhana commemorates the immemorial myth of Rāvaṇa lifting Mount Kailāsa, that resulted in his being trapped beneath the mountain by Śiva himself for hundreds of years) on the seventh day of the festival. The list tallies exactly with the schedule given in the Citsabheśotsavasūtra. On the eighth day, our text prescribes the horse chariot (vāji-vāhana), which in the actual festival scenario is enacted as the procession of Bhikṣāṭana on a golden chariot pulled by two horses.
The pinnacle of the festival takes place on the ninth and tenth day. The intensity increases dramatically, for it is at this auspicious time that the image of Naṭarāja from the central shrine (citsabha) is taken in procession in a chariot (ratha or tēr in Tamil) according to textual prescription. When the procession is underway, the devotees pull the chariot along the streets in a clockwise direction (pradakṣiṇa) accompanied by music, dance, singing, and ritual offerings. All five deities thus placed on their own chariots circumambulate the city following the chariot streets (rathamārga).
In procession in front of Naṭarāja are: a group of people carrying lavishly decorated vessels filled with incense (dhūpapātra) and lamps (dīpapātra); then comes the temple priests (ācārya), probably Smārta Brahmins of the Cidambaram temple, and sacrificial priests (rṭvij), always referred to in the plural form, assisting priests of the festival. The officiating priest resides on the platform on the right side of Naṭarāja.
Behind Naṭarāja comes his beloved devotee Caṇḍeśvara, accompanied by devotees and dance-servants (nṛttasevaka). Immediately after come those learned in the Vedas, eminent Brahmins learned in all scriptures, and then the entire Brahmin community, followed by the Vīraśaivas or Liṅgāyats or Liṅgādhārins, and the Pāśupatas. The procession march ends with Tamil speakers (drāviḍa- bhāṣāprācarapuruṣa), old people, and reciters of religious hymns. The Citsabheśotsavasūtra offers a joyful image of festive celebration.
Upon the completion of rathayātra, the deities re-enter the temple pavilion called Rāja Sabha. The Rāja Sabha, the royal hall, known also as the Thousand Pillar Hall, was built during the Cōḷa reign for the purpose of royal coronation. In the pre-dawn hours of the tenth day under the full moon, ritual ablution (abhiṣeka) is performed on Naṭarāja on the steps of the Rāja Sabha, which is followed by a royal audience (darśana) of Naṭarāja and Śivakāmasundarī.
The “Festival of Black Paste” (kṛṣṇagandhōtsava), a famous Āgamic ritual still enacted during Chidambaram festival as part of the rathayātra. The ritualistic preparation of black paste involves, among other things, the infusion of the paste with mantric power by reciting the pañcākṣara mūla- mantra, probably “(om) na-maḥ-śi-vā-ya,” and the five brahmamantras. The Citsabheśotsavasūtra states briefly that the ritual application of black paste on the icons of Naṭarāja and Śivakāmasundarī should come after smearing them with fresh butter. Afterwards, the icons of the deities are dressed in white clothes. The Dīkṣitars describe a substance called yakṣardama, “the mud of the Yakṣas,” which, according to the Amarakośa, is a mixture of agallochum, sandal, camphor, musk, and kākolla berries. The Saiddhāntika Kāraṇāgama connects kṛṣṇagandhōtsava with Śiva’s act of concealment (tirodhāna). The text says that black paste represents the three fetters (mala) of karma, māyīya, and āṇavamala that bind the human soul. These impurities should be offered to Śiva Naṭarāja who, smeared with the black paste and cleansed of it, enacts the removal of concealment that “covers” the soul.
Source: Wenta, Aleksandra. “The Great Ārdrā Darśanam Festival: Performing Śaiva Ritual Texts in Contemporary Chidambaram.” International Journal of Hindu Studies 17 (2013): 371–398.
Cosmic Dance, Sharada Srinivasan, published in the INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE QUARTERLY, Volume 34, Number 2, Autumn 2007 issue https://narthaki.com/info/articles/art217.html
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