Panguni Uthiram 2023: Date, Puja Time and Rituals, History, Significance and Celebration of Panguni Uthiram

Panguni Uthiram 2023 will be celebrated on Wednesday, 5th of April. This festival holds immense significance for Lord Shiva and Lord Murugan.

Panguni Uthiram, also called as Meena Uttara Phalguni, is a major festival celebrated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The festival is related to Lord Murugan, Lord Ayyappa, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu but its special significance is related to Lord Murugan who is worshiped with great devotion by the Tamil Hindus. Panguni Uthiram is observed in the Panguni (Meena) month when Uthiram Nakshatra or Uttara Phalguni prevails and it falls normally in the month of March/ April. The complete month of Panguni is considered very auspicious and many other festivals are also observed in this month. In this article, complete details about Panguni Uthiram 2023 like its date, story, celebration, significance, etc have been provided.

Panguni Uthiram 2023 Quick Overview

Festival Name	Panguni Uthiram
Panguni Uthiram 2023 Date in Tamil Nadu	April 5
Dedicated to	Lord Shiva and Lord Murugan
Uthiram Nakshathram starts on	9:36 AM on April 4
Uthiram Nakshathram ends on	11:23 AM on April 5

Panguni Uthiram 2023 Date

According to the Tamil calendar, Panguni Uthiram is observed on the day when the moon transits in the Uthiram Nakshathram in the month Panguni and it occurs on Purnima or full moon day. This coincides with the Hindu month of Phalguna or Chaitra and in the Gregorian calendar, it falls in the month of March or April. Calculated as per the Tamil calendar, Panguni Uthiram 2023 will be celebrated on Wednesday, 5th April 2023.

Significance of Panguni Uthiram

On the day of Panguni Uthiram, the Uthiram nakshatra will coincide with the full moon and it is believed that most divine marriages took place on this day. On this very day, Goddess Parvati married Lord Shiva, Goddess Deivayanai married Lord Murugan, Goddess Sita married Lord Rama and many other celestial marriages took place. Goddess Parvati married Lord Shiva in Kanchipuram in the form of Gowri and therefore this festival is also celebrated as Gowri Kalyanam day. Thus, the festival signifies the importance of grahasta dharma or married life of a householder.

Panguni Uthiram is also believed to be the birth anniversary of Goddess Mahalakshmi and is therefore celebrated as Mahalakshmi Jayanti. On this day Goddess Mahalakshmi incarnated on the Earth from the churning of Milky Ocean, known as Ksheera Sagara Manthan. Other than this, this festival is also celebrated as Lord Ayyappan Jayanti as it is believed that Lord Ayyappan was born from the union of Lord Shiva and Mohini (the female form of Lord Vishnu) on this very day.

The whole month of Panguni is considered as auspicious and many spiritual festivals and wedding dates are observed in this month. Festivals such as Vasantha Panchami, Panguni Uthiram, Vijaya Ekadasi, Karadaiyan Nonbu, Amalaki Ekadasi, Karaikal Ammayar Gurupuja, etc are all celebrated during this month.

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Panguni Uthiram Celebration

The festival of Panguni Uthiram is also known as Kalyana Vrata, which is one of the eight maha vratas as mentioned in the Skanda Purana. People who seek favorable life partners observe a fast on the occasion of Panguni Uthiram and offer prayers to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Prayers are offered to Lord Murugan as well and his blessings in sought for a happy and blessed married life. Fast is observed strictly and devotees spend the whole day without eating anything and offering prayers to the Lords. A sweet dish made of milk called as Payasam can be eaten in the evening after observing the day long fast. Those who find difficulty in observing strict fast can also observe partial fast and eat fruits.

Other than homes, festivities and celebrations on Panguni Uthiram are also carried out in temples also. Idols or statues or Lord Murugan and other deities are cleaned and decorated with jewels and flowers. Marriage ceremony of Lord Murugan and Goddess Deivayanai is also carried out at some places. Devotees in large number visit temples of Lord Murugan to watch the ceremony and seek his blessings. Prayers and special mantras like Kanda Shashti Kavasam, Kanda Puranam, etc are also recited by the priests as well as individuals.

On the occasion of Panguni Uthiram, there is also a tradition of carrying Kavadi, just like the Thaipusam festival. A kavadi full of offerings in form of food is carried by the devotees to the temple of Lord Murugan. On Panguni Uthiram, the earth element (Prithvi lingam) is worshiped at the Ekambareswarar Temple at Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu where the festivities last for 13 days.

Summary

Panguni Uthiram is a well-known Tamil Hindu festival celebrated mainly by  Ayyappa, Murugan, Shiva and Vishnu devotees.

On this day, devotees visit Murugan temples to attend the celebration of Panguni Uthiram festival. This festival is celebrated only once every year.

Devotees also carrry a kavadi to Lord Subrahmanya temple for the fulfillment of vows.

The day of Panguni Uthiram is also considered crucial for Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, and Kaumaram.

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