Kartik Purnima

The Purnima on the day of Shukla Paksha in the Kartik month is known as Kartik Purnima. It is also known as Tripuri Poornima and Tripurari Poornima. It is sometimes called Deva-Diwali or Deva-Deepawali - the festival of lights of the gods. Karthika Purnima is also one of the days when the temples of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are full with the devotees wanting a darshan of their deities.

 Lord Mahadev killed a demon named Tripuri on this day and hence, it is known as Tripuri Purnima. Kartik poornima is also the birthday of Matsya, god Vishnu's fish-incarnation (Avatar). It is also the birthday of Vrinda, the personification of the Tulsi plant and of Kartikeya, the god of war and son of Shiva. It is believed that Krishna and Radha danced rasa and Krishna worshipped Radha on this day.Dev Deepawali is celebrated in  Varanasi and other northern parts of India. In Varansi all the Ghats are lighted with diyas. It is a visual delight. Not only the Ghats but almost all the houses in Varanasi also decorated with diyas.

Kartik Poornima is closely associated with Prabodhini Ekadashi which marks the end of Chaturmas, a four-month period when Vishnu is believed to sleep. Prabodhini Ekadashi signifies the awakening of the god. Chaturmas penance ends on this day. Many fairs that begin on Prabodhini Ekadashi end on Kartik Poornima, Kartik Poornima usually being the most important day of the fair. Fairs that conclude on this day include Prabodhini Ekadashi celebrations at Pandharpur and Pushkar Fair. Kartik Poornima is also the last day to perform Tulsi Vivah ceremony that can be performed from Prabodhini Ekadashi.Also, it is believed that Vishnu, on this day, returns to his abode after completing his stay in Bali. Hence, the day is known as Deva-Diwali.

Rituals :

The common rituals of Karthika Purnima are having a river bath and praying to Lord Shiva and observing a fast for the whole day.Devotees would prefer to have a bath in the holy rivers as it is believed that by simply performing the Nadi Snan or river bath in the Karthika Month .An holy bath at Pushkar or in the Ganges river, especially at Varanasi is deemed as most auspicious. Kartik Poornima is the most popular day for bathing in the Ganges at Varanasi. The devotees also take a bath in the evening during moonrise and offer worship by way of six prayers.Devotees would visit the temple of Lord Shiva and lit lamps. A pack of 365 wicks is usually lit. Each wick is for each day of the year.Some devotees would light a wick on the floats made from the stems of the Banana Tree and set it afloat on the river.

One of the most auspicious days for performing the Satya Narayana Swamy Vrat is Karthika Purnima. Almost all the temples of Lord Shiva would perform the Ekadasi Rudra Abhishekam on Karthika Purnima.It is believed that by performing the Ekadasi Rudra Abhishekam on Karthika Purnima one would get free of all the sins and would get salvation.On Karthika Purnima Arati is given to the holy river Ganga or Goddess Ganga.A fair or mela or Jatara is organized at the Ananthagiri Padmanabha swamy temple in Andhra Pradesh.

2017  Date : 4th November.