Thiruvathira festival depicting cosmic dance of Shiva

[ajay0]

Today is the Thiruvathira festival in south India which celebrates the cosmic dance of Shiva as a golden red-flamed light.

Thiruvathira - Wikipedia

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.

Interestingly, the monotheistic Dharmic sect the Prajapita Brahmakumaris consider God Shiva to be an incorporeal point of golden-red light, synonymous with Waheguru of Sikhism (as well as Jehovah, Allah and Ahura Mazda of the other monotheistic religions) where there is similar connotations and associations with light.

 

[Vinayaka]

This is also called Ardhra Abhishekham or Ardhra darshanam. It is the tenth day of Tiruvembavai, and in particular celebrates the hymns of Manikavasagar. There is one song that is sung hymn by hymn and between hymns an aarti to Nataraja is performed.
Yesterday we celebrated it in a neighbouring city. We had undertaken a simple overnight pilgrimage, and didn't know for sure if the temple we were going to would be celebrating or not, as they're kind of disorganised. But they were, so we were 'lucky'. Homa, detailed abhishekham, that song, then a parade around the inside of the temple, with Natarajah in His glory.

Natarajah Natarajah Sivakami Natarajah!

Manikkavacakar - Wikipedia

 

[ameyAtmA]

I think it should be arUdra
Ardra appears to be a colloquial transformation of arUdra over the years? Whereas AardrA with 2 long-vowel a's is the nakshatra , constellation -- whose presiding Deity is Shiva/Rudra - [not] surprisingly. Could this ArdrA nakshatra also really be arUdrA ? and its presiding Deity being Rudra is no coincidence?

Thiruvathira or Thiruvathirai or Arudhra Darisanam is a Hindu festival celebrated in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Thiruvathirai (Arudhra) in Tamil means "sacred big wave"

arUdra = a + rUdra = not angry, gentle (despite being unselfishly Rudra at other times for universal reasons such as essential dissolution)
Shankar in the form of NaTarAja, did this Leela of going to the palace of Himavan in the guise of a Nat (actor-dancer), and perform a dance-drama

That is on the surface and then deeper - it is that ring of fire of Super-Consciousness around Shiva as the dancing NaTarAja.

 

[ameyAtmA]

Besides,

arUdra is one of the 1000 names of VishNu in VishNusahasranAma - well , not exactly.
It is araudra = one who never gets angry
-- in grammar rudra turns into raudra for adjective.
e.g. "raudra rUpa" = ferocious form,
and araudra is the exact opposite i.e. peaceful, pleasing and benevolent, kind.

VishNuSahasranAma shloka 97:
araudrah: kunDalI chakrI vikramyUrjita shAsanah: |
shabdAtiga shabda-sahah: shishira sharvarIkarah: || 97

I love shabdAtiga which means beyond words.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Ardra also means wet, perhaps in some way related to rains. Point to note: Rainy season in India and Central Asia are different. Central Asia gets rain around autumnal equinox. I mention it because after all, the Aryans and Rudra worshipers came from Central Asia.
Should be 'ShabAtita', but perhaps in Maharashtra it is 'ShabdAtiga'.

 

[ameyAtmA]

Ardra also means wet,

That is true - one ref. is Shri SUkta

perhaps in some way related to rains. Point to note: Rainy season in India and Central Asia are different. Central Asia gets rain around autumnal equinox. I mention it because after all, the Aryans and Rudra worshipers came from Central Asia.

Well, agriculturalists say they are taught , and farmers are taught since ancient times to sow crop seeds by checking the nakshatra, and acc. to them Ardra nakshatra falls in the 13-14 day period of last week of June to First week of July.

That is BhAratIya monsoon, because if that was developed in Central Asia, then Ardra would be the nakshatra that spans the November time-frame right ?

Should be 'ShabAtita', but perhaps in Maharashtra it is 'ShabdAtiga'.

It is one of the original 1000 SanskRit names in VishNu SahastranAma.
I agree that atIta means crossing, beyond, transcending, such as dvandAteeta, triguNAteeta,
however, the Sanskrit name in the SahasranAma (SahastranAma), is shabdAtiga.
The late M.S. Subalakshmi Amma also pronounced it as g.

She is the VS expert - I do not listen to anyone else chanting VS - only her divine transcendental "swar"