Surasamharam (), also called Suranporu, is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

ritual folk performance that recreates the legend of the killing of

asuras Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, ...

by the deity

Murugan Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...

. It is the culmination of the week-long Kanda Shasthi Vratam festival. It is performed mainly in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It is also celebrated in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, and the district of

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

at temples dedicated to Murugan. This festival falls in the month of either Aippasi or Kartikai of the

Tamil calendar The Tamil calendar (தமிழ் நாட்காட்டி) is a Sidereal time, sidereal solar calendar used by the Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It is also used in Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry, and by the Tamil ...

Description

The Surasamharam performance is based on the legend of Murugan, also known as

Kanda Kanda may refer to: People *Kanda (surname) * Kanda Bongo Man (born 1955), Congolese soukous musician Places *Kanda, Tokyo, an area in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan ** Kanda Station (Tokyo), a railway station in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo *Kanda River, a riv ...

, as described in the

Kanda Purana The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukhyapurāṇa'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvat ...

. In the days preceding the performance, the Kanda Purana is narrated in the temple. The performance ends with the killing of Surapadman and his allies, which is depicted through the symbolic beheading of the four asuras of Anamugan, Panumugan, Simhamugan, and Surapadman by Murugan, employing his divine spear, known as the

vel Vel () is a divine spear associated with Murugan, the Tamil Hindu god of war. Significance According to Shaiva tradition, the goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Kartikeya(also known as Murugan), as an embodiment of her shakti, in ...

. For the performance the ''vel'' is specially consecrated; 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. Surasamharam is preceded by several ceremonies on the last day of the ''Kanda Shashti'' festival. Special

pujas () is a worship ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event. It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guests, or their mem ...

are conducted and the deity of Murugan is ritually anointed in the ritual of ''

abhishekam Abhisheka () is a religious Ritual, rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a deity. This is common to religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism An abhiṣeka is conducted ...

''. Devotees are offered an auspicious sight of the deity, called a ''

darshana In Indian religions, a ''darshan'' (Sanskrit: दर्शन, ; 'showing, appearance, view, sight') or ''darshanam'' is the auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person. The term also refers to any one of the six traditional schools of Hind ...

''. In some parts of Tamil Nadu, devotees observe a six-day fast, which they break at the end of the Surasamharam. In

Palani Palani or Pazhani () is a town in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about west of Dindigul, south-east of Coimbatore, north-west of Madurai, from Kodaikanal. The Palani Murugan Temple or Arulmigu Dhandayut ...

, a procession of Murugan (locally called the ''Dandayuddhapani'') is taken down from the

Palani Murugan Temple Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Murugan situated atop a hillock amidst the Palani Hills in Palani, Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan. The temple is managed by the Hindu Religio ...

and led through the main thoroughfares of the town before the Surasamharam. Soorasamharam

At the Tiruchendur Murugan Temple, six days of celebrations for Kanda Shashti start from the ''

tithi In Vedic timekeeping, a ''tithi'' is a "duration of two faces of moon that is observed from earth", known as ''milа̄lyа̄'' () in Nepal Bhasa, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the Moon and the Sun to increase by 12 ...

'' of the Aippasi month, culminate on the day of Surasamharam. The performance of the ''tiru kalyanam'', the ceremonial wedding ceremony of the deity and his consorts, is observed on the day following the Surasamharam. In Tamil Nadu, the Surasamharam is witnessed every year by large crowds of devotees. The

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

and

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

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

References

{{Reflist

External links

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