Arattupuzha Pooram, Kerala
| Year | Dates |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3rdto 10th April 2023. |
| 2024 | To be announced |
Arattupuzha Pooram is popular Hindu temple festival held annually at the Arattupuzha Temple in Arattupuzha, located in Thrissur district of Kerala. This is an important festival for the people of Kerala and every year, hundreds of people from the nearby regions visit Arattupuzha to attend Arattupuzha Pooram. This is a celebration of 7 days, and starts on Pooram Nakshatra day in Meenam month, which usually falls in the month of April. Arattupuzha Pooram is considered as the “Mother of all Poorams”. It is considered very lucky for those who can witness this festival once in their lifetime. So, if you are planning a trip to Kerala, then book your tour to Kerala during the Arattupuzha Pooram time to explore the rich the culture and heritage of the state in a much better way for lifetime memories. Arattupuzha Pooram is one of the oldest temple festivals in India. The celebrations have become grander in each passing year, enticing people from various parts of India to attend the festival. Hence, Arattupuzha Pooram, Kerala tour is worth taking in one’s lifetime. The year 2023 will celebrate the 1441th Arattupuzha festival. Arattupuzha Pooram 2023 dates are from 3rd April to 10th April 2023.
Significance
Arattupuzha festival is the oldest of all the poorams celebrated in Kerala. Held at the temple complex of Arattupuzha, which is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, it is also considered to be the most extravagant festival that people look forward to every year. The temple is a 3000-year-old temple, also referred as Sree Sastha Temple or Ayyappa Temple. As per legends, on the Pooram Nakshatra day, which is the first day of the festival, 101 Gods and Goddesses of the neighbouring villages visit the Arattupuzha Temple. Hence, the Arattupuzha Pooram is known as a conclave of Gods or devmala. The locals and other devotees consider it very auspicious to offer prayers on this day to all the deities assembled at the temple, along with Lord Ayyappa.
Highlights of Arattupuzha festival
The small town Arattupuzha comes to live during the festival time. Every household in Kerala, the streets, all temples are decorated beautifully with lights, lamps and flowers. The Ayyappa temple looks gorgeous. The locals are in their best dresses to enjoy the festival. Everywhere, there is a kind of fun and festive mood, along with the religious traditions being followed. Some of the major highlights of the festival are as follows:
• 23 deities from different temples in Thrissur are brought to Ayyappa Temple during the festival time. This makes it the largest devmala in the world. It is a spectacular visual for the devotees to see so many beautifully decorated Gods and Goddesses in the temple complex.
• Along with this, you will also see hundreds of caparisoned elephants lined up in a systematic way at the temple complex. This is a beautiful sight not to be missed during this festival. The pancharimelam is seen in all the 7 days.
• The highlight of the festival is the ceremonial procession. All deities assembled are taken out in a procession of elephants. The gorgeous caparisoned elephants carry the deities atop, with religious beats and drums being played at the backdrop. This happens on the fifth day and continues till the seventh day. The procession of elephants starts from the Ayyappa temple, passes through the entire Arattupuzha town, taken to the Thottipal temple and then brought back to the temple.
• Staging of percussion in a grand way, supposed to be the largest assembly of percussion artists as compared to other poorams, makes Arattupuzha festival a unique festival. This ceremony is called Sasthavinte Melam. More than 200 artists perform in sasthavinte melam.
• There are small kiosks all around the temple, where you will find palmists and small traders selling traditional and religious handcrafted items and other things.
• You will see huge crowd of devotees carrying glowing traditional torches, dancing and singing, which add to the festive galore.
• Traditional art forms are displayed during the festival time which the tourists enjoy.
• Magnificent fireworks bedazzle the night sky, which is an amazing sight for the onlookers.
• On the last day, Lord Ayyappa is given a ceremonial bath, referred as Arattu in the nearby river ghat and brought back to the main temple while all other assembled deities make way for their respective temples in Thrissur.
Arattupuzha, a history town in Thrissur district, is worth visiting during Arattupuzha Pooram. With its sheer grandeur and visual extravagance, Arattupuzha Pooram has become one of the best festival tours in India. Attending this Mother of all Pooram festivals of Kerala is indeed a lifetime experience and you should not miss it. Book your Arattupuzha Pooram, Kerala Tour 2023 with the best inbound tour operator in India for an extraordinary experience of celebrating a temple festival with the grace of bejeweled elephants, traditional rituals, vibrant percussions, and magnificent deities.
Want to join this festival?
