Significance of Kartika Purnima

 

This is celebrated on a full moon day which falls in the month of Kartika. On this day, people celebrate the victory of Good over Evil by lighting rows of Diyas.

▪️Ideally, Diya should be lit daily. If not daily, atleast, it is to be lit in this entire month of Kartika.

▪️If even that's not possible, we have seen people lighting as many Diyas as possible on this day as it is equivalent to lighting a Diya, the entire year.

The LEGEND

▪️Lord Karthikeya, son of Shiva and Parvathi killed the demon Tarakasura. To avenge his death, the demon's three sons did a hard penance for many years. Pleased with their devotion, Lord Brahma promised to fulfill any of their wish except immortality (because as per Laws of Nature, Death is inevitable for anyone who is born.)

▪️The three sons wished for three flying cities with forts made of Gold, Silver & Iron respectively. These three cities were in different planes (Heaven - Sky - Terrestrial plane) and would align only for a short time once in every thousand years. These three demons/cities were collectively referred to as "TRIPURA." The demons would die only when all three cities are in alignment with each other and are hit simultaneously with a single arrow. 

▪️On this day of Karthika Purnima, when these 3 were aligned for few seconds, Lord Shiva fired the arrow(which was Lord Vishnu itself) which destroyed the cities and forts, burning them to ash. Lord Shiva adorned his forehead with three horizontal strips with the ash left over and danced in ecstasy. His dance is known as TRIPURA NASHA NARTHANA or TRIPURA TANDAVA! The Gods came down and took a bath in the sacred River Ganga (Kartik-Snana) and lit rows of Diyas . Hence the Kartika Purnima became known as DEVA DEEPAVALI. It is also known as TRIPURARI PURNIMA.

THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE

A) The three cities as a whole represent

▪️An individual’s three EQUIPMENTS – the Body, Mind and Intellect. 

▪️They also represent the three periods of TIME – Past, Present and Future.

▪️The three STATES of EXPERIENCES – Waking, Dream and Deep sleep.

▪️The three ATTRIBUTES of the MIND – Sattva, Rajas and Tamas; and 

▪️The three WORLDS – Higher, Mortal and Lower worlds. 

▪️An individual is associated with the three equipments, the three states, the three qualities of the mind and he also transacts in the three worlds in the three periods of time. All of them are constantly in a state of flux (change). 

B) Shiva represents a seeker in his seat of meditation striving to transcend all the tri-groups and reach the State of Enlightenment. ▪️The alignment of the three cities represents the state of stable and neutral equilibrium reached by the seeker within himself. 

▪️The arrow released indicates the transcendence of all the tri-groups, and consequently the realization of the Supreme State of Absolute Oneness. 

▪️In the Highest Vision of Oneness experienced within oneself, all plurality and multiplicity dissolves away or gets burnt down. This is represented by the ash which the Lord adorns himself with.

▪️ Vibhuti means ‘ash’ and it also means ‘Divine glory’. The glory, ornament and beauty of a Jeevan Mukta is his REALIZATION.

 C) Devatas taking a dip in the Ganga signifies a spiritual seeker taking a dip into the scriptural knowledge represented by Mother Ganga and ultimately experiencing the State of Enlightenment represented by Kashi or Varanasi. 

This is the All-full (Poorna) State indicated by Kartika Poornima. It is significant to note that the term KARTIKA denotes the faculty of viveka or discrimination used by the seeker in his seat of contemplation.

 - Written by Dr.Manikanth Vivek