Famous Festivals

Kumbakonam, a temple town in Tamil Nadu, hosts spectacular Rathotsavams (Temple Car Festivals), especially at major shrines like Sarangapani Temple, where massive, intricately carved wooden chariots are pulled by thousands of devotees during annual Brahmotsavams, featuring vibrant processions, devotional music, and cultural fervor, making it a major spiritual event. These festivals involve grand chariots, some enormous like Tiruvarur’s, with huge ropes (vadam) and specific rituals, showcasing immense community faith.

Mahashivratri at Isha Yoga Center is a 5-day festival of unbounded exuberance, cultural spectaculars and immense spiritual possibilities in the presence of Sadhguru. On Mahashivratri, Maha Annadanam is offered to lakhs of devotees – this is not just an offering of physical nourishment, it is a distribution of prasadam by the willing hands of volunteers. The event also involves a tremendous print and social media effort, live online & television telecast and elaborate arrangements for facilities, conveniences and amenities for devotees.

Sri Vaishavite devotees converged in large numbers and offered their prayers to the presiding deity at Sri Sarangapani Temple at Kumbakonam on Vaikunda Ekadasi day on Monday even though the ‘Sorgavasal’ event, celebrated as part of Vaikunda Ekadasi in a majority of Vaishnavite temples is not in practice at this temple. Because it is believed that Lord Vishnu descended from His abode Sri Vaikundam to marry Goddess Mahalakshmi brought up by Hema Rishi as ‘Komalavalli’ and married her. Since Lord Vishnu descended from Sri Vaikundam in a chariot as Sri Aravamudhan, this temple is considered by the devotees as ‘Vaikundam’ itself and hence the practice of observing ‘Sorgavasal’ is not in practice in the temple.

Panguni Uthiram in Kumbakonam is a vibrant festival celebrating divine marriages (like Shiva-Parvati, Murugan-Deivanai) in March-April, featuring special theerthavar (holy water dips) at Mahamaham Tank and Cauvery, with processions at temples like Sri Nageswarar, Kambatta Viswanathar, and Swamimalai, emphasizing devotion and auspicious unions with large crowds and traditional rituals. A significant Hindu festival in the Tamil month of Panguni (March-April) when the Uthiram star aligns with the full moon (Pournami). Commemorates divine weddings, including Shiva-Parvati, Murugan-Deivanai (Goddess Devasena), and Sita-Rama. Also known as Gowri Kalyanam (Parvati’s wedding) and Mahalakshmi Jayanti. 

Mahamaham is a Hindu religious festival celebrated every twelve years at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. It is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Magha, and is considered a symbolic equivalent of the Kumbh Mela. While the annual observance is known as Masimaham after the Tamil calendar month of Masi, the Mahamaham is observed once in twelve years. The festival attracts large crowds, which had been documented by writers since the 19th century. The last Mahamaham was celebrated on 22 February 2016. The festival involves a gathering of pilgrims at the Mahamaham tank. As per Hindu mythology, the waters in the tank is constituted holy confluence of nine Indian river goddesses–Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Kaveri, and Sarayu.