A 10-day festival dedicated to Lord Vishnu has just ended. During this festive time, my neighborhood was transformed into a place of celebration. Music, parades, large colorful kolams, a swelling of temple visitors, and of course more litter were some items observed. Every morning and night the temple’s statue of Lord Vishnu was paraded around the neighborhood, dressed in different clothing representing some various gods. It is said during this time Vishnu visits the community as the statue is paraded past the homes. It is a time of happiness and community togetherness.
Unlike other festivals, this celebration varies from temple to temple. In many cases it’s a commemoration of some anniversary at the temple; when it was built, when special statues were installed, or when a special high-ranking religious person visited the temple. Such staggering of celebration times enables devotees to visit temples scattered throughout an area. For Indians, the more festivities, the better!
2 comments:
The more festivities the better--for me, too!
Lord Vishnu's preserving, protecting powers have been manifested to the world in a variety of forms, called Avatars, in which one or more of his divine attributes were embodied in the shape of a human being or an animal or a human-animal combined form, possessing great and sometimes supernatural powers.
Lord Vishnu Photo, Sri Vishnu Picture, God Vishnu
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