utsava murti

The term utsava is broken down into two root words ut - "removal" and sava - "sorrows." Collectively known as "removal of worldly sorrows." The second term murti means "manifestation of divinity."{{Cite book |last=Sivkishen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmVZBgAAQBAJ&dq=utsav+murti+meaning&pg=PT323 |title=Kingdom of Shiva |date=2015-01-23 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-81-288-3028-0 |language=en}} Utsava murti is also translated as "festival image" or "idol used for procession."{{Cite book |last=Kurien |first=Prema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxneawQ8sKQC&dq=utsav+murti+meaning&pg=PA92 |title=A Place at the Multicultural Table: The Development of an American Hinduism |date=2007-06-19 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4161-7 |pages=92 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Chari |first=S. M. Srinivasa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC&dq=utsav+murti+meaning&pg=PA361 |title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline |date=1994 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-1098-3 |pages=361 |language=en}} File:Sri Srinivasa Perumal Utsavar.jpg and his consorts]]

An utsava murti is generally made of metal,Baldev Raj, C. Rajagopalan, C. V. Sundaram. Where gods come alive: a monograph on the bronze icons of South India. whereas a mulavar murti is usually made of stone. Ablutions are performed on the utsavar images during daily prayer, or during festivals. It is performed in a sequence with various material like milk, curd, honey, and sugar. These are meant to indicate five elemental aspects of earth, and with the ablution, prayers are sought to please the five natural elements.{{cite book |last=Marga |first=Bhakti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_a2XDwAAQBAJ&dq=abhishekam&pg=PA97 |title=Maha Lakshmi: The Secret of Prosperity |date=13 May 2019 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=9783963430343 |page=97}} The metal images of utsavar, or the utsava murtis, are usually placed in the sanctum sanctorum during the day time of worship. During the last worship practice, called Ardhajamam in South Indian temples, there is a lengthy proceeding when sacred verses praising the deities are recited. These utsavars are usually made of bronze and stored in the respective shrines of the deities. Panchaloha is a term for traditional five-metal alloys of sacred significance used for making Hindu temple icons. The tradition started from the Chola era from the 7th century, and continues during the modern era.{{cite book |last=Varghese |first=Alexander P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7GKwhuea9kC&q=panchaloha&pg=PA53 |title=India : History, Religion, Vision And Contribution To The World |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd. |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-269-0903-2 |location=Chennai |page=53 |orig-year=2008}}

File:Tirttavarikasi visvanathar.JPG

The utsava deities are carried upon palanquins, after which the doors of the sanctum are shut. The festive images are carried out in various palanquins or mounts, with figures of a peacock, elephant, Garuda, or large chariots. There are special festivals like Theerthavari, Garuda Sevai, and Sapthastanam,{{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}} when the festival deities of many temples are placed upon chariots or vehicles to the main temple in the region.{{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}} Devotees perform various rituals on the festive deities. The utsava deities are taken to a decorated room, anointed with sandal paste, and decorated with silk. After the proceedings, the milk offered to the deities is given to the devotees. Some Shiva temples have swings designed for the images, while some have rooms decorated with mirrors.{{cite book|last=Flueckiger|first= Joyce Burkhalter|title= Everyday Hinduism| publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated|year= 2015|via= ProQuest Ebook Central|url= https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1977575|page=106-7|url-access=registration}} During the Kumbabhishekam, or the coronation event, the temple is renovated, while the mulavar image is moved to a temporary location. The practice is called Balalayam, during which the festival image takes precedence.{{cite book|title=எக்ஸ்டஸி|first= Saravanan|last= Chandran|page=75|year=2017|publisher=Kizhakku|isbn=9788184938616|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbWLCgAAQBAJ&q=%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D}}

Several historic South Indian cities like Madurai, Srirangam, Sirkali, Thiruvarur, and Chidambaram were built around large temples in the center of the city. The streets of the city act as extension of the prakarams (compounds) of the temple. These squares retain their traditional names of Adi, Chittirai, Avani-moola, and Masi streets, corresponding to the Tamil month names, and also to the festivals associated.{{cite book |last=King |first=Anthony D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1HtVU6D2LOUC |title=Buildings and Society: Essays on the Social Development of the Built Environment |publisher=Taylor & Francis e-library |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-203-48075-5}} 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.{{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}}

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Category:Hindu iconography

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Category:Hindu temple architecture