Hindus around the world observed Thai Poosam Kavady on Sunday, 1 February, a sacred festival held in honour of the Hindu deity, Lord Murugan. The festival commemorates the occasion when Lord Murugan was blessed with the divine vel, or spear, by his mother, Goddess Parvati, symbolising the triumph of good over evil and the power of faith, discipline and devotion.
Thai Poosam Kavady is also rooted in the story of Idumban, a powerful being who was once a follower of Lord Shiva. Idumban was instructed to carry two sacred hills, bound to either end of a pole, on his shoulders. Exhausted from his journey, he placed the hills down to rest, unaware that Lord Murugan, in the form of a young boy, had claimed the spot.
When Idumban attempted to lift the hills again and found them immovable, a confrontation followed, during which he came to realise the divine presence of Lord Murugan. According to tradition, after Idumban recognised Lord Murugan’s divine form and surrendered to him, Lord Murugan blessed him and granted him a unique boon: that no devotee carrying kavady would be able to worship Lord Murugan without first paying respects to Idumban.
This blessing acknowledged Idumban’s endurance, humility and unwavering faith, and elevated him as the guardian and gatekeeper of the Kavady path.
The main Kavady day marks the culmination of a 10-day fast, during which devotees prepare themselves spiritually and physically through prayer, abstinence and acts of devotion. On this day, devotees carry their burdens as offerings of thanksgiving and praise to the deity in the form of a kavady, a wooden pole with a mesh dome carrying two pots of milk; a bhanga, a long bamboo pole bearing two pots of milk; or a paal kudam, a metal pot filled with milk, often carried on the devotee’s head. Others fulfil their vows by pulling a chariot, a mobile structure attached to the devotee by a length of rope pinned to the body.
As part of their sacred vows, some devotees also pierce their bodies, foreheads or tongues, an act of deep faith and surrender symbolising endurance, humility and unwavering devotion to Lord Murugan.
Despite the hot summer sun, devotees turned out in large numbers, painting Chatsworth in vibrant shades of yellow, while the air was filled with the fragrance of marigolds and incense, creating an atmosphere rich in devotion, colour and spiritual reverence.
