Karthigai Deepam is the Tamil festival of lamps, older by many centuries than Deepavali in the south. On the evening when the star Karthigai (the Pleiades) meets the full moon of the month of Karthigai, rows of clay agal lamps are lit at every doorstep, window and wall. At Tiruvannamalai a great cauldron of ghee is lit on the summit of Arunachala at six in the evening, and burns for days.
The story
When Brahma and Vishnu disputed who was greater, Shiva stood between them as a column of fire without end. At their prayer he became the hill Arunachala, and promised to show himself as a flame on its summit once a year.
The six stars of Karthigai are the six nurses of Murugan, so the day is his as well. The Sangam poems, two thousand years old, already describe lamps lit in rows for the Karthigai festival.
அண்ணாமலையாருக்கு அரோகரா!
To the Lord of Annamalai: Arohara!
The cry of the crowd as the flame appears on the hill
How it is kept
- Agal vilakkuClay lamps are lit at dusk for three evenings and set out on kolams.
- Bharani Deepam and Maha DeepamAt Tiruvannamalai a lamp is lit in the sanctum before dawn, and its flame is carried up the hill for the evening.
- ChokkapanaiA tall cone of dry palm leaves is burned in front of the temple.
- Pori urundai and appamBalls of puffed rice and jaggery, and sweet fried appam.
- MavaliChildren whirl a sparking bundle of charcoal on a string.
Why this date
Karthigai Deepam is the day in the solar month of Karthigai on which the star Karthigai (Krittika) is present in the evening, just after sunset, when the lamps are lit. It usually falls on the full moon.
Karthigai Deepam in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Friday | |
| 2029 | Tuesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Friday |
More Tamil festivals
4 NovemberSkanda Sashtiகந்த சஷ்டி
28 OctoberDeepavaliதீபாவளி
20 December 2026Vaikuntha Ekadasiவைகுண்ட ஏகாதசி
4 DecemberSubrahmanya Sashtiசுப்ரமண்ய சஷ்டி
9 OctoberVijayadashamiவிஜயதசமி
9 OctoberSaraswati Puja and Ayudha Pujaசரஸ்வதி பூஜை · ஆயுத பூஜை
Where to see Karthigai Deepam
In Tamil Nadu
- TiruvannamalaiTamil NaduThe Maha Deepam on the hill ends a ten-day festival; millions walk the path round it that night.
- TirupparankundramTamil NaduA lamp is lit on the hill above Murugan's rock temple.
- Meenakshi Temple, MaduraiTamil NaduA lakh of lamps in the corridors and round the Golden Lotus tank.
- PalaniTamil NaduThe hill temple is lit and the Chokkapanai is burned.
Across India
- VaranasiUttar PradeshDev Deepawali on the ghats, on the same or the previous full moon.
- SrisailamAndhra PradeshKarthika Pournami, with the arch of fire.
- ThrissurKeralaThrikarthika, when Kerala lights its lamps for the goddess.