Thaipusam 2020: All you need to know about the auspicious day

Thaipusam 2020. Pic courtesy: Pixabay. Image for representation purpose only. 

Thai Pusam (Thaipusam) is a festival celebrated predominantly by Tamil speaking people across the globe. On this day, devotees worship Kartikeya, who is also known as Murugan in the Southern part of the country. It falls on the Full Moon day in the month of Thai when Pusam (Pushya) Nakshatram prevails according to the Tamil calendar. This year, Thai Pusam will be celebrated today.

Tithi as per the traditional Hindu calendar:

Pusam Nakshathram began at 12:01 AM on February 8 and shall end at 10:05 PM.

Significance of Thai Pusam or Poosam:

Devotees worship Lord Murugan on this day to seek his blessings to ward off evil or troubles from their life. They also pay obeisance to the deity by doing the Kavadi attam. A kavadi is a semi-circular wooden carrier that is used to carry offerings meant for the deity. Devotees tonsure their head and walk barefoot carrying the weight of the kavadi on their shoulder or a pot of milk on their head. Thus, they showcase their devotion to the Lord, who shields them from troubles and showers them with the courage to battle all odds. Devotees even dance while carrying the kavadi, and this religious expression is called kavadi attam.

Some devotees even pierce their cheeks and tongue with the Vel, Lord Murugan's weapon. 

The Legend associated with Thai Pusam:

According to one of the popular beliefs, Lord Kartikeya came into being on this day. And according to another legend, Goddess Parvati gifted the Vel (spear) to Lord Murugan on this day ahead of his battle with a demon named Soorapadman.

Here's how the story unfolds. The Devas fought countless battles against Soorapadman, but the latter grew invincible with time. Hence, fearing the worse, the Devas reached out to Lord Shiva to intervene. To annihilate the demon, Shiva produced Kartikeya, a warrior, mightier than the mightiest.

Soon after taking birth, Kartikeya took charge of the army of the Devas and defeated the demon hands down.

The spiritual significance of the battle:

Devotees take refuge under Lord Kartikeya's protective shelter after seeking his blessings to eradicate problems from their lives.