Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies/Chapter 1
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Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies
l. The Ardra
THE followers of the Saiva religion deem five places in Southern India most holy, and, they are:—Conjeeveram, where Siva is worshipped in the shape of Prithvi-linga or as the representative of the element earth; Tiruvanaikovil, near Trichinopoly, where he is worshipped in the shape of water-linga; Sri Kalahasti, the shrine containing the air-linga; Tiruvannamalai, the seat of the fire-linga; and Chidambaram, the abode of the ether-linga. The several forms of the god Siva in these sacred shrines are considered to be the bodies or casements of the soul whose natural bases are the five elements—-earth, water, fire, air and ether. The apprehension of God in the last of these five as ether is, according to the Saiva school of philosophy, the highest form of worship, for, it is not the worship of God in a tangible form, but the worship of what, to ordinary minds, is vacuum, which nevertheless leads to the attainment of a knowledge of the all-pervading without physical accessories in the shape of any linga, which is, after all, an emblem. That this is the case at Chidambaram is known to every Hindu, for if he ever asks the priests to show him the God in the temple he is pointed to an empty space in the most holy of the holies, which has been termed the Akasa, or ether-linga. In this hes the so-called Chidambara-rahasya—the secret of worship in the sacred city of Chidambaram. When any devotee has reached the stage of worshipping God in this manner, he is, according to the Saiva doctrine, deemed to be exempt from all future births and is supposed to secure absorption in the supreme essence of God. It is on account of this high nature of worship that the main hall of the Siva temple in this town is termed the chit-sabha—the hall in which the true devotee acquires illimitable and supernatural powers which could be obtained only by concentrated devotion to God and which when once acquired could be exercised at pleasure. Including the chit-sabha—the hall of supreme vision and wisdom, there are five chief halls in the Chidambaram shrine, which are called the kanaka-sabha—the golden hall; the chitra-sabha—ornamental hall; the deva-sabha—the divine hall; and the nritta-sabha—the hall of dancing. The special deity worshipped in the temple is called Natesa—the lord of dancers. His other names are Nataraja—the king of dancers; Sabhesa—the lord of the several sacred halls; and Sabhapati—the president of these sacred halls. The prominent idea underlying the Sthala Purana of Chidambaram is that the great God having perceived his own Self in Himself is illuminated with wisdom and dances with very joy on account thereof; and that the devotee who visits the temple and witnesses this dance becomes himself absorbed in God. The Chidambaram shrine has thus from time immemorial been a visible symbol of a philosophic phase of the Hindu religion. It is the place where, according to Hindu beliefs, nersons even of the lowest caste have attained oneness-with God by sincere devotion and faith. Nanda—a Paraiya saint—attained eternal felicity by his devotions at Chidambaram. The most orthodox of the orthodox Brahmans will never stint the reputation of this greatest of Saiva saints, who after all was only a Paraiya by birth. It is the only place in the whole of India where no attempt has been made to import conventional ideas of Godhead into the purely philosophic basis of the Hindu religion. In keeping with this fame, Chidambaram is now the seat of several Sudra monasteries, where several hundreds of Sudra mendicants are taught Sanskrit. A Brahman visitor to this sacred town will be surprised to see the number of Sudras repeating the Upanishads in the early morning in these monasteries. To add to his wonder he will find that they have not only got by heart these sacred writings but that they understand their meaning and possess a perfect knowledge of the subject-matter which is a rare thing even with Brahmans.
Such is the merit of Chidambaram. Special meritoriousness is attached by the Saivites to the Ardra festival which takes place in this town on the full-moon day of the month of Margasira, according to the Hindu year,—corresponding to the latter half of December and the first half of January. As the Hindu deity Rama is supposed to have been born on a Navami day and Krishna on an Ashtami day, so Siva in his incarnation of Natesa is considered by the Saivites to have been born on the full-moon day of the month of Margasira and in the constellation of Ardra—the sixth lunar mansion. On the night previous to the feast the bathing of the image of the god Natesa takes place ona grand scale. Of the Hindu trinity Siva is supposed to be fond of baths and Vishnu of ornaments. The Siva god of Chidambaram—lord Natesa—is bathed only six times in a year, and the. bath on the night previous to the Ardra feast is conducted on the grandest scale. Pilgrims and devotees flock to the hall where this bathing is performed. Pots full of milk, honey, lemon-juice, pomegranate juice, cocoanut water, ghee, oil, sandal paste, curds, holy ashes, and other liquids and solids, considered as sacred offerings to the deity, pour in from all parts to be used on the occasion. This ceremony commences at about midnight and lasts till late in the morning. When the bathing is over the image is choicely decorated; and the Brahman priests of Chidambaram are considered to be adepts at showing off the image to.its best advantage. The decoration is done behind screens and when the screens are raised the whole hall rings with the hymns of praise chanted by the thousands of pilgrims and devotees who have assembled there to worship God. The choicest temple jewels in-southern India, made of the finest of precious stones, are to be seen only in two shrines—Srirangam and Chidambaram. Natesa on the Ardra festival day is most superbly decorated and at about evening time is taken round on a grand procession. 'This.is the most impressive scene of the Ardra festival and the Anandatandavam—the dance in ecstatic joy—takes place on this occasion. The bearers of the image have a mode of marching slowly, so as to give the image the appearance of dancing. The most holy of holies—the Garbhagriha of the temple—is reached after a slow march of three or four hours; and this completes the Ardra feast.
There is a queer story in connection with this feast which obtains credence with the mass of the worshippers, but which is not to be found in any of the Hindu Puranas. It is that the god Siva left his inner apartments one night and returned,home early next morning. The goddess Parvati grew jealous on this account and denied him admission. Hot words were exchanged and soon after reconciliation followed. In keeping with this legend the temple doors are shut just as the god enters at the close of the procession on the Ardra day, and questions and replies take place between two priests who represent the god and goddess. After the supposed reconciliation the doors are opened. This, as has been said already, is entirely a popular belief, having no Puranic foundation.
The places in Southern India most sacred to this feast are Chidambaram in the South Arcot District, Tiruvalur in the Tanjore District, Lalgudi in the Trichinopoly District, and Perur in the Coimbatore District. The great Saiva philosopher—Manikkavasakar—passed his latter days in Chidambaram and worshipped Natesa. A small festival in honour of the memory of this philosopher takes place on this occasion in the temple.