There are two festivals dedicated to Lord Nataraja, the form of Shiva as the Cosmic Dancer. One is the Aani Tirumanjanam in June and the other which is more important takes place now, in the month of Margazhi which begins in mid December and goes upto mid January. According to the Hindu Almanac, the great cosmic dance or the RudraThaandavam happens on the full moon night of the Aarudhra or Orion constellation. Tiruvaadirai as it is called in Tamil and Malayalam, is called Aarudhra in Sanskrit. Lord Nataraja is believed to perform his cosmic dance on this night, thus upholding the five-fold activities of the universe. Aarudhra signifies the red flame and Shiva performs his dance in the circle of this red-flamed light.

The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva represents five activities – Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release. In essence, it represents the continuous cycle of creation and destruction. This cosmic dance takes place in every particle and is the source of all energy. The Tiruvaadirai or the Aarudhra Darshan festival celebrates this ecstatic dance of Lord Shiva-Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer.

This year Aarudhra Darshan in Tiruvannamalai took place on the full moon night of 8th January. Lakhs of people walked with devotion around the holy hill of Arunachala. In the big temple of Lord Arunachaleeswara, Tiruvaadirai is celebrated as a Nataraja Utsavam. The deities of Lord Nataraja and his consort Goddess Shivakami inside the main shrine are worshipped with many special pujas and rituals involving sacrificial fires and grand abhishekams and then they are taken on procession around the courtyard of the temple.

It is interesting to note that this night is also special for Ramana devotees because it marks the preceding night of Sri Ramana’s birth which happens the next day, on the Punarvasu constellation. For Aarudhra, the Nataraja deity in the Mother’s temple of Ramanashramam received a beautiful abhishekam at 4 o clock in the morning and many devotees braved the biting cold of this early hour to come and witness the holy ceremony.

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