A ship or a
boat is a contraption that can float and
move on the ocean, a river, or any waterbody, either through its own power or
using power from the elements (wind, waves, or Sun). Plain steel would sink in
water immediately, as would a wrecked steel ship !
The reason
that a ship floats is that it displaces a lot of water. The displaced water keeps
pushing the ship upwards – this force is
called the buoyancy force. The more water that is displaced, the stronger the
buoyancy force is which pushes the object up. Any object dipped into water experiences two forces: the gravity
force which pulls it down due to its weight, and the buoyancy force which
pushes it up. If these forces are equal, then the object floats.
In
the divyadesam of Thiruvallikkeni, the tamil month of Masi has special
significance. On the Full moon [Pournami day and Magam Nakshathiram] Sri
Parthasarathi Swami visits the shores of Marina, famously known as Masi
Magam. Perhaps this is the time that signifies the onset of summer
and it is time for cooling the Lord. On Masi New moon [Amavasyai] starts
the float festival at Thiruvallikkeni. The tank of Sri Parthasarathi
Swami is famous ~ it is ‘Kairavini Pushkarini’… the pond of Lily – ‘allikkeni’ from which the
place itself derives its name (~ and my blog is titled Kairavini
Karaiyinile literally
meaning on the banks of holy Kairavini, the temple tank). The tank has added significance attributed
to the birth of “Yathi Rajar” – Swami Ramanujar due to the penance undertaken
by Kesava Somayaji and Kanthimathi ammal. Pushkarinis were developed closely
associated with temples. The water from the tank was once used daily for
thirumanjanam and all other religious functions of the Lord. The conclusion of
Brahmotsavam would be by ‘thirthavaari’ the sacred bath at the tank.
Every year there is the ‘theppam’ – the float festival. A floating structure gets spruced up, made of
drums, timber and ornated beautifully. Perumal would come to the temple tank in
purappadu and placed majestically inside the float. The beautifully lit theppam
is dragged around in water. Devotees in hundreds converge, sit everywhere on
the steps of the temple tank to have darshan of the Lord on theppam. In olden
days, the shops springing up for the occasion were of added attraction.
The annual float festival of the Sri Parthasarathy Swamy
temple starts every year on Maasi Ammavasai day and is a 7 day affair. In my young days, the tank was much bigger and
would brim with water – so the size of the float also used to be much bigger.
Now a days, the float is much smaller in size, the grandeur of the
festival has only increased though.
This year the Theppa Utsavam began today on 8th
March 2016 and here are some photos taken during the Theppam.
Adiyen Srinivasadhasan.
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