Koothandavar Temple Chithirai Utsavam… Koovagam is a village in the Ulundurpettai taluk in Kallakurichi district of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for its annual festival of transgender individuals, also called as ‘ARAVANIS’ which takes fifteen days in the Tamil month of Chitrai (April/May). The festival takes place at the Koothandavar Temple dedicated to Aravan (Koothandavar). The participants marry the Lord Koothandavar, thus retelling the ancient history of Lord Vishnu/Krishna who married him after taking a form of a woman called Mohini. The next day, they mourn the god Koothandavar’s death through ritualistic dances and by breaking their bangles. An annual beauty pageant and several other competitions like singing contests are held.
In Koovagam, Tamil Nadu, a special festival event is usually observed for about 15 to 18 days and it is celebrated every year. Lot of Aravanis from Tamil Nadu and even from other states of India would participate in the festival. This festival is usually observed on Tuesday before Chitirai pournami of every year.
The Koovagam festival is an annual gathering of transgender women, referred to as Aravani in Tamil that begins on the full moon of the Chithirai month of the Tamil calendar. Tens of thousands of transgender women gather for this grand festival event.
For the first 13 days, the festival is filled with performances and programming as well as the Miss Koovagam beauty contest which would be arranged by some noble-minded people. During the 14th day of the festival, the women used to dress very well and would arrive at the Koothandavar temple to become symbolic brides of the deity Aravan. Priests perform the marriages as proxies for Aravan by tying thaalis(Sacred tread meant for women) around their necks and applying kumkum on their foreheads. The women spend a day pleasantly by celebrating their status as newlyweds.
On the 16th day, the image of Aravan is repainted and paraded during the festival throughout the village until the deity reaches the mourning grounds, where the brides become widows and wear white sarees, remove their thaalis and break their bangles to spend a day as widows, mourning the death of Aravan.
Transgenders are the worshipful people, and they are classified as transmen and transwomen. It is believed that due to the harm caused to the female gender, a person is taking the form of a transgender. They must be treated by the people as the avatars of Lord Arthanareeswarar, a combination of Shiva and Shakti, and they have to be initiated in the spiritual path, and must be trained in yoga and meditation.
Yearly Koovagam festival would takes place in a grand manner in the Koothandavar temple during the months of April – May, and thousands of transgenders would participate in the festival. At that time, they would worship Lord Aravan, son of Arjuna and Naga queen Mata Ulupi, who has sacrificed his life for the sake of Pandavas.
While worshipping Lord Aravan, it is advisable for them to worship Lord Krishna also, since worshipping the two great gods, would bring wonders in their life.
Aravan is a noble character from Mahabharata. He is the son of Arjuna and the Naga princess Ulupi. Aravan is the deity and worshipped in the Kuthandavar Temple. He is also worshipped as a village deity and he is the main god for the transgender communities.
The Mahabharata mentions the greatness of Aravan towards self-sacrificing his life. Aravan had done self-sacrifice before Goddess Kali for the victory of the Pandavas. It is also mentioned in ancient texts, that Aravan was killed by Alambusha, one of the kaurava warrior by cutting off Aravan’s head in the kurukshetra war.
As per Aravan’s wish, Sri Krishna takes the form of Mohini and marries Aravan. He also has got the boon from Lord Krishna, to witness the kurukshetra war from his severed head. This marriage festival is celebrated as the Transgender Festival at Koovagam village in Tamil Nadu. Aravan is also worshipped in this temple as Koothandavara.
“OM SRI ARAVANESWARAYA NAMO NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R. HARISHANKAR