Sivalaya Ottam (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

: சிவாலய ஓட்டம்,

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

: ശിവാലയ ഓട്ടം) is a ritual marathon undertaken by the devotees to the 12 Siva shrines in the district of Kanyakumari on the day of

Sivarathri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

. From 2014 onwards the day was announced as a local holiday for the district.

Ottam route

The Ottam begins at ''Thirumalai'', the first Sivalayam and goes all through the next 10 temples before ending at ''Thirunattalam''.

Rituals

Special pujas will be conducted at temple at ''Thirumalai''. The ritual begin after the devotees taking a holy-dip in the Thamirabharani river at

Munchirai Munchirai is a block or panchayat Union of Kanyakumari district, India. It is one among the nine administrative divisions of the district of Kanyakumari. It is famous for the Sivalaya Ottam as its starting point. The current president of the ...

, the first Sivalayam. The participants wear saffron robes, hold a palm-leaf fan on their hand and chant the mantra '' "Govinda... Gopaala..." '' all through the whole day of running. The pilgrims receive the holy ashes, ''"Thiruneer"'' from all the eleven temples. The purpose for the pilgrimage is believed to be fulfilled only by receiving the Sandal-paste from the final ''Sankaranarayanar Temple'' at Thirunattalam. After this, it is also told that a worship at Adi Kesava Temple at

Thiruvattar Thiruvattar is a panchayat town in Kanyakumari district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. About the town This town is situated northeast of Marthandam and northwest of Nagercoil. The two main rivers, the Pahr ...

nearby is also very useful after this ceremony. The objective of the pilgrimage is to uphold that Siva and

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

are both the manifestations of one supreme being. Before, the devotees observes a one-week fast. tender coconut and tender palmyra in the day time and

tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulasi'' or ''tulsi'' (), is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is widely cultivated throughout the Southeast Asian tropics. It is native to tropical and subtropical r ...

-water at night are the only food items taken by the devotees during the

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

days.

Location Address of Shivalaya Ottam

References

*http://www.hindudevotionalblog.com/2012/02/story-of-sivalaya-ottam.html *http://sivalayaottam.blogspot.in/p/history.html

Citations

Hindu practices Hinduism in Tamil Nadu Hinduism in Kerala Hindu rituals {{Hinduism-stub ta:சிவாலய ஓட்டம்

Ottam route

Rituals

Location Address of Shivalaya Ottam

See also

References

Citations