Ārāttu (pronounced[aːraːʈʈə]) is an annual ritual performed duringHindu temple festivals inKerala, India, in which a priest bathe the idol of adeity by dipping it in a river or atemple tank. It is mainly carried out at the end of a temple festival.Ārāttu is celebrated twice annually—thespring festival (March - April) and theautumn festival (October - November). A festival normally lasts 10 days.[1]
One of the important Arattu inKerala is conducted atPadmanabhaswamy Temple,Thiruvananthapuram byTravancore royal family, procession is carried out toShankumugham Beach for the ceremony.[2][3] The operations at theTrivandrum International Airport stops twice a year for the procession to pass through the runway to the Shankumugham Beach.[4] AtAmbalappuzha Sree Krishna Swamy Temple, the festival starts with a flag hoisting, after bathing the deities,ambalappuzha palpayasam (a sweet pudding) is offered to the gods.[1] The eight-day long festival atSree Poornathrayeesa Temple,Thrippunithura is concluded with anaaraattu.[5]
A 1979 Malayalam film directed byI. V. Sasi was titledAarattu, and a 2021 film directed byB. Unnikrishnan also use thesame title, both the films are otherwise unrelated to the ritual.
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