Karthika is the month Telugu households hold dearest to both Shiva and Vishnu, and its full moon is the month's high point. Lamps are lit in temples, at the tulasi plant and on the water, and many light a single lamp of 365 wicks to stand for every day of the year.
The story
The day is also Tripura Pournami. Three demon brothers had built three flying cities that could be destroyed only when they came into a line, once in a thousand years, and only by a single arrow. Shiva, as Tripurantaka, loosed that arrow on this full moon.
Karthika is a month of early cold-water baths, of one meal a day, and of Mondays (Karthika Somavaram) kept for Shiva. The full moon gathers all of it into one night.
కీటాః పతంగాః మశకాశ్చ వృక్షాః జలే స్థలే యే నివసంతి జీవాః । దృష్ట్వా ప్రదీపం న చ జన్మభాగినః
Insects, moths, gnats and trees, all that live in water or on land: may they, on seeing this lamp, be freed from rebirth
Said while lighting the Karthika lamp
How it is kept
- The 365-wick lampWicks are counted out and bound together, soaked in ghee, and lit at a Shiva temple or at home after moonrise.
- Lamps on the waterLamps are set in halved banana stems or on leaves and floated on rivers and tanks. Others are lit in hollowed usiri (amla) fruit beneath an amla tree.
- Jwala ThoranamAt Srisailam and other Shiva temples an arch of straw is hung across the entrance and set alight, and devotees pass beneath it.
- Fast and vratamThe fast is broken after seeing the Moon. Satyanarayana Vratam is widely performed on this day.
- VanabhojanamThrough the month, families and whole communities eat together outdoors under trees, by preference an amla tree.
Why this date
Karthika Pournami is the full-moon tithi (Pournami) of Karthika, given on the day it is in force at sunrise. The lamps themselves are lit that evening, after the Moon has risen.
Karthika Pournami in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Sunday | |
| 2028 | Thursday | |
| 2029 | Wednesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Friday |
More Telugu festivals
2 NovemberNagula Chavithiనాగుల చవితి
29 OctoberDeepavaliదీపావళి
28 OctoberNaraka Chaturdasiనరక చతుర్దశి
4 DecemberSubrahmanya Shashthiసుబ్రహ్మణ్య షష్ఠి
9 OctoberVijayadasamiవిజయదశమి
8 OctoberMaha Navamiమహర్నవమి
Where to see Karthika Pournami
In the Telugu states
- SrisailamAndhra PradeshThe Jyotirlinga of the Telugu country; the full moon is marked with Jwala Thoranam, an arch of fire that pilgrims pass beneath.
- DraksharamamAndhra PradeshOne of the five Pancharama temples of Shiva, which many try to visit in a single day in this month.
- VemulawadaTelanganaThe Raja Rajeshwara temple, the busiest Shiva temple in Telangana.
- KeesaraguttaTelanganaA hill of lingas an hour from Hyderabad, crowded with lamps on Karthika Mondays and the full moon.
Across India
- VaranasiUttar PradeshDev Deepavali: every ghat on the Ganga is covered in lamps on this night.
- PushkarRajasthanThe camel fair and the bathing at the lake both end on this full moon.
- TiruvannamalaiTamil NaduKarthigai Deepam, a fire lit on the summit of Arunachala, falls on this full moon or close to it.
- CuttackOdishaBali Jatra opens with Boita Bandana, toy boats floated in memory of the voyages to Bali and Java.