aaraattu
{{short description|Indian ritual}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{for multi|the 1979 film|Aarattu (1979 film)|the 2022 film|Aaraattu (2022 film)}}
File:ArattupuzhaPooram12.JPG]]
File:Arattumandapam at Shankumugham beach.jpeg at Shankumugham Beach]]
File:Pooram Kuli-Aarattu Festival in Veerabhadra temple-Cheruvathur-Kasarkod District-Kerala-India.jpg of Veerabhadra temple, Kasaragod]]
Ārāttu ({{IPA|ml|aːraːʈʈə|pron}}) 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.{{cite news|title=Want to experience Kerala in its full glory? Aarattu festival is the answer|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/want-to-experience-kerala-in-its-full-glory-aarattu-festival-is-the-answer/as68357123.cms|access-date=15 November 2020|work=The Times of India|date=11 March 2019}}
Major festivals
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.{{cite news |last1=Bayi |first1=Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi |title=Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple: The bond has only grown stronger |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/the-bond-has-only-grown-stronger/article32473249.ece |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=The Hindu |date=29 August 2020}}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZupq7AlvI Arattu at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple 2013] The operations at the Trivandrum International Airport stops twice a year for the procession to pass through the runway to the Shankumugham Beach.{{cite news |title=This Kerala airport halts flights to make way for 'God' |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala-airport-flights-thiruvananthapuram-padmanabhaswamy-procession-5446164/ |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=The Indian Express |date=14 November 2018}} 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. The eight-day long festival at Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple, Thrippunithura is concluded with an aaraattu.{{cite news |title=After Covid lockdown, festival days return to Tripunithura |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2020/nov/15/after-covid-lockdown-festival-days-return-to-tripunithura-2223713.html |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=The New Indian Express |date=15 November 2020}}
In popular culture
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
References
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{{Culture of Kerala}}
{{Tourism in Kerala}}
{{Hindu temples in Kerala}}
Category:Culture of Thiruvananthapuram
Category:Hindu festivals in Kerala
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