The Chitra Pournami girivalam in Tiruvannamalai slated for Wednesday has been banned owing to the Coronavirus lockdown.
The Chitra Pournami Girivalam in Tiruvannamalai slated for Wednesday has been cancelled owing to the nationwide lockdown 3.0 instated in order to curb the rising number of positive novel coronavirus cases. The district witnessed a sudden spurt in the number of Covid-19 cases which increased from 16 to 27 on Monday.
District Collector, KS Kandasamy reportedly said that the public would not be allowed to take part in the 14-km long procession or perform pooja and other rituals at the temple on May 6. This is for the second time that the administration has cancelled a girivalam programme.
What is Chitra Pournami?
The first Full Moon of the Tamil New Year, Chitra Pournami is an auspicious day for erasing old karma and starting of new for creation and manifestation. Astronomically, Chitra Pournami is celebrated when the Sun is exalted in the sign Aries, and the Moon is in the bright star named Chitra in the constellation of Libra.
The legend of Chitra Pournami
According to Padma Purana, the lieutenant of God Yama (God of justice and dharma) and the divine bookkeeper Chitragupta maintains the good and bad records of everyone on earth. The Full Moon of Chitra Pournami is the perfect day to connect with Chitragupta, and it is believed that invoking Chitragupta’s blessings and feeding the poor and needy on this day can help erase the negative karma in your records.
When is Chitra Pournami celebrated?
Chitra Pournami is a Tamil festival observed on the day of the full moon in the month of Chithirai or Chaitra, corresponding in the Gregorian calendar to a day in April or May. This year the auspicious day will be celebrated on May 7, 2020. On the festival day, many devotees bathe in rivers or other water bodies to symbolise their sins being washed away. This is especially popular at the river Chitra in the district of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu.
Devotees are expected to go around the ‘Annamalaiyar Hill’ on Chitra Pournami day also known as Girivalam.
Where to watch it live
You can watch the proceedings of the auspicious day at http://www.arunachaleswarartemple.tnhrce.in/live/index.html