utsava

File:Thiruvangad uthsavam.jpg

Utsava is a Sanskrit term referring to festival and the festivities associated. Agamas, the diction for temples, refer to utsava as specific festivals associated with the temples. More than the religious aspects, the utsavas are meant to celebrate along with the society and thanking the elements of nature. People belonging to various castes and tribes come together to celebrate the event, which is always associated with a feast for all. The utsavas are usually associated with a season like Vasanthotsava celebrated during spring season. The events usually have parades and the festive deities are taken around various streets to indicate that god is accessible to all. According to Agamas, the daily rituals are called Nityotsava, weekly festivals as Varotsava, monthly as Masotsava, alignment with stars as rkotsava and annual festivals as Mahotsava or Brahmotsava.{{cite book|title=A Priest's Guide for the Great Festival|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruAfDP0OZyEC&dq=utsava&pg=PA25|page=25|last=Aghoraśivācārya|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195378528|year=2010}}

Most South Indian temples have daily, weekly, monthly and annual rituals, and festivals. There are weekly rituals like {{lang|te-Latn|somavaram}} and {{lang|te-Latn|sukravaram}}, fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi when ablution and special poojas are performed.{{cite web|title=Sri Natuthuraiappar temple|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=965|publisher=Dinamalar|access-date=3 August 2014}} Brahmotsavam is the chief festival celebrated in most of the temples for ten or more days. The word is a combination of two Sanskrit words—Brahma and utsavam (festival)—and Brahma reportedly conducted the first festival. Brahma also means "grand" or "large".{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/brahmotsavam-celebrations-begin-at-tirupati/article19728057.ece| title=Mother of all Festivals | work=The Hindu | date=21 September 2017 | access-date=25 October 2017}}

{{cite book|title=Castes And Tribes of Southern India|page=152|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jz4ODgAAQBAJ&dq=vigraha&pg=PA152|first=Edgar |last=Thurston|publisher=Victoria Publishers}} Vasanthotsavam, the spring festival, is celebrated in temples to worship lord of nature and their elements and natural forces as well as lord and deity of directions and environment.{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/12/stories/2006041210620300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419152327/http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/12/stories/2006041210620300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2006-04-19|title=Vasanthotsavam begins|date=2006-04-12|work=The Hindu|access-date=2008-04-18}} There are special festivals like Theerthavari, Garuda Sevai and Sapthastanam when the festival deities of many temples are taken in chariots or vehicles to the main temple in the region. Devotees perform various rituals on the festive deities.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/sapthasthanam-festival-begins/article26904458.ece|title='Sapthasthanam' festival begins|date=21 April 2019|work=The Hindu|accessdate=19 April 2020}}{{cite book|title=Temples of Forgotten Glory: A Wide Angle Exposition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ItClDwAAQBAJ&q=aiyarappar+temple&pg=PT172|first=Sekar|last=Venkatraman|isbn=9781645876250|publisher=Notion Press|year=2019|pages=182, 205}}

Most of the historic South Indian cities like Madurai, Srirangam, Sirkali, Tiruvarur, and Chidambaram were built around large temples in the center of the city. The streets of the city act as extension of the prakarams of the temple. These squares retain their traditional names of Aadi, Chittirai, Avani-moola and Masi streets, corresponding to the Tamil month names and also to the festivals associated. The temple prakarams and streets accommodate an elaborate festival calendar in which dramatic processions circumambulate the shrines at varying distances from the centre. The temple chariots used in processions are progressively larger in size based on the size of the concentric streets. The festive images are carried out in various palanquins or mounts with figures of peacock, elephant, Garuda or large chariots.{{cite book |last1=Selby |first1=Martha Ann |first2=Indira Viswanathan|last2= Peterson |title=Tamil geographies: cultural constructions of space and place in South India |year=2008 |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7914-7245-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0_lLAechPcC|page=149}} Ancient Tamil classics record the temple as the centre of the city and the surrounding streets.{{cite book|last2=Bardwell|first2= Smith|first1= Holly Baker|last1= Reynolds|title=The city as a sacred center: essays on six Asian contexts: Annual meetings|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-08471-1|year=1987|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OsAfAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA18|page=18}} The city's axes were aligned with the four-quarters of the compass, and the four gateways of the temple provided access to it. The wealthy and higher echelons of the society were placed in streets close to the temple, while the poorest were placed in the fringe streets.{{cite book |last=King |first=Anthony D. |title=Buildings and Society: Essays on the Social Development of the Built Environment|year=2005 |publisher=Taylor & Francis e-library |isbn=978-0-203-48075-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1HtVU6D2LOUC}}

{{reflist|20em}}

• Davis, Richard H. (2009). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ruAfDP0OZyEC A Priest's Guide for the Great Festival Aghorasiva's Mahotsavavidhi]. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-537852-0}}. pp. 25–29.
• Utsavas - Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple of Greater Chicago [http://www.balaji.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=93 Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple of Greater Chicago]

{{Hinduism topics}}

{{Commons category|Utsava}}

Category:Festivals in India