FESTIVALS
MAHA SHIVARATRI
The third day of the Maha Shivaratri festival i.e the Maha Shivratri day is scheduled to be celebrated at nighttime. The ardent devotees observe a fast and stay awake at night during the nightlong prayers and spend the night contemplating on spirituality.
Amid nightlong prayers, during the 3rd prahar time (3rd jamam) of Chaturdashi Tithi, a traditional ritual is performed by four temple priests. The priests are decorated attractively, and one of the priests holds a divine trident, and the other two hold divine spears. They gain spiritual energy from the goddesses, to carry out the sacred dance aggressively. The priests meditate and surrender their hearts to devotion, gaining divine sentience, and perform unrestrained emotional movements. The devotees watching the sacred dance, take themselves into meditation, as well merge their minds with the Almighty consciousness.
One of the priests holding the trident moves fast, enters the sanctum, and positions the divine trident up straight in the sacrificial clay pot filled with holy water, placed in front of Sithanathar. Then comes the second priest with the divine spear, positions the spear up straight in the sacrificial clay pot filled with holy water placed in front of Arulmigu Angala eswari. Finally, the third priest holding the divine spear enters the sanctum and positions the spear up straight in the sacrificial clay pot filled with holy water, placed in front of Arulmigu Magamayi. By the grace of Sithanathar, all the three divine tools stood up straight in the same position. The devotees witnessing this divine blissful scene, worship the presiding deities; with devout ecstasy, and get the blessings of Deeparadhana. They are distributed with sacred offerings, holy ash, and holy water.