Indulgence is human nature, and the tendency to go overboard, especially when one is flush with funds, or blessed with abundant natural wealth, needs to be curbed. However, it is not possible for ordinary people to lead a life of austerity right through the year. Bearing this in mind, our saints and seers have helped strike a balance by dovetailing religious practices with pragmatism. The festival of Aadi Perukku is an example of such endeavours, said Dr. Sudha Seshayyan in a discourse.
Celebrated by Tamils everywhere, especially by women and young children, the festival falls on the 18th day of the Tamil month of Aadi. On this day, women carry pots of germinated navadhanya on their head and move in a procession towards water bodies, where they offer prayers and seek divine blessings for their crops by way of abundant monsoon. In the month preceding this, the westerly winds begin to set over the State. With all the rivers flowing west to east, the catchment areas benefit from a good monsoon. The rivers, especially Cauvery, are swollen, like a pregnant woman. The importance of desilting and damming works is reinforced among the younger generation who are guided towards worshipping the river goddess, variously identified as Ambal, Amman, Parvati and Cauvery Herself. Nearly 40 of the 108 Divya Desams, sacred to Vaishnavites, lie in Tamil Nadu, with many of them along the banks of the Cauvery. The most famous among them is Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, where a special utsav is held on Aadi Perukku. On this day, many recall Sri Vedanta Desika’s depiction of Sri Ranganatha’s stroll along the banks of the Cauvery: “Kamapi Kanaka Sindho: Saikathe sancharantham anisam anubhavyEam”, and seek the blessings of Vishnu and Mahalakshmi.
