Sooranporu or Soorasamharam part of Kandha Sashti Vratham festival is a ritual folk performance that recreates the killing of

Asuras Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

Lord Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

. It is performed in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to t ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and the district of Palakkad in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

at temples dedicated to Murugan. The ''Soorasamharam'' festival is also celebrated in Thiruvannur Subramanya Swami temple in

Kozhikode District Kozhikode (), or Calicut district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its Southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 67.15% urbanised. ...

kerala for more than a century in the name Sooranpada. In the year 2021, the festival will be celebrated on 9th November 2021. The date of Soorasamharam is fixed using the lunar portion of the Hindu lunisolar calendar and is celebrated on . Since the Tamil calendar months are based on the solar portion of the Hindu calendar, this festival falls in the month of either Aippasi or Karthigai in the Tamil calendar. The Sooranporu performance is based on the story of Murugan, also known as Kandha, as given in the Kandhapurana. In the days preceding the performance the Kandhapaurana is narrated in the temple. The performance ends with the killing of Sooran (or Padmasura) and his race which is depicted through the symbolic beheading of the four Asuras Anamughan, Panumughan, Simhamughan and Soorapadman. The Asuras are beheaded by Murugan using his weapon the ''vel'' a kind of spear or javelin. For the performance the ''vel'' is specially consecrated and during the staging of the show it is ceremonially placed on the neck of the effigy after which the head is removed, depicting the beheading of the Asura. Sooranporu is staged at the end of a week-long ''Kanda Sashti'' festival. Sooranporu is preceded by several ceremonies on the last day of the ''Kanda Sashti'' festival. Special pujas are conducted and the deity of Murugan is ritually anointed (

abhishekam Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions s ...

) and devotees seek the deity's darshan. In some parts of Tamil Nadu devotees observe a six-day fast which they break at the end of the Sooranporu. In

Palani Palani ( or ''Palni'' as in British records, is a town and a taluk headquarters in Dindigul district of the western part of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about south-east of Coimbatore and north-west of Madurai, from Kodaika ...

, a procession of Lord Murugan (known here as ''Dandayuthapaniswamy'') is taken down from the

hill temple A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

and led through the main thoroughfares of the town before the Sooranporu. At

Thiruchendur Murugan Temple Chenthilandavar Temple, Tiruchendur is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Murugan. It is second among six abodes of Murugan (Arupadaiveedugal) situated in Tamil Nadu, India. This temple is the fourth Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu to get ISO cert ...

, six days celebrations for Kanda Sashti start from Pirathamai of Aippasi Masam culminate on Soorasamharam day. Thiru Kalyanam is observed on the next day of Soorasamharam.

Every year temple idol procession is taken out in cities during the festival of

Soora Samhaaram ''Soora Samhaaram'' () is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Chitra Lakshmanan and written by Vietnam Veedu Sundaram. The film stars Kamal Haasan in the role of police officer, ACP Athi Veerapandiyan. The film was la ...

. In Tamil Nadu, Sooranporu is witnessed every year by large crowds of devotees and the state government and

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

ply special buses and trains to facilitate their travel. In Kerala's Palakkad district, Sooranporu is held in all the major Tamil settlements in the district.

References

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External links

http://www.tiruchendurmurugantemple.tnhrce.in/festival.html Asura Religious vernacular drama Tamil culture Theatre in India Hindu traditions October observances November observances Kaumaram Festivals in Tamil Nadu