Cannabaceae

Ārāttu at Arattupuzha Pooram
Bathing the idol at an ārāttu
An ārāttu mandapam at Shankumugham Beach
Ārāttu at temple tank of Veerabhadra temple, Kasaragod

Ārāttu (pronounced [aːraːʈʈə]) is an annual ritual performed during Hindu temple festivals in Kerala, India, in which a priest bathe the idol of a deity by dipping it in a river or a temple tank. It is mainly carried out at the end of a temple festival. Ārāttu is celebrated twice annually—the spring festival (March - April) and the autumn festival (October - November). A festival normally lasts 10 days.[1]

Major festivals

[edit]

One of the important Arattu in Kerala is conducted at Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram by Travancore royal family, procession is carried out to Shankumugham Beach for the ceremony.[2][3] The operations at the Trivandrum International Airport stops twice a year for the procession to pass through the runway to the Shankumugham Beach.[4] At Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Swamy Temple, the festival starts with a flag hoisting, after bathing the deities, ambalappuzha palpayasam (a sweet pudding) is offered to the gods.[1] The eight-day long festival at Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple, Thrippunithura is concluded with an aaraattu.[5]

[edit]

A 1979 Malayalam film directed by I. V. Sasi was titled Aarattu, and a 2021 film directed by B. Unnikrishnan also use the same title, both the films are otherwise unrelated to the ritual.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]


One thought on “Cannabaceae

  1. Well, that’s interesting to know that Psilotum nudum are known as whisk ferns. Psilotum nudum is the commoner species of the two. While the P. flaccidum is a rare species and is found in the tropical islands. Both the species are usually epiphytic in habit and grow upon tree ferns. These species may also be terrestrial and grow in humus or in the crevices of the rocks.
    View the detailed Guide of Psilotum nudum: Detailed Study Of Psilotum Nudum (Whisk Fern), Classification, Anatomy, Reproduction

Leave a Reply