Overview
Aadi Perukku is a unique and auspicious Tamil cultural festival celebrated predominantly in Tamil Nadu, especially along the banks of rivers like the Cauvery. It falls on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi (mid-July to mid-August), hence also called Pathinettam Perukku. This celebration marks the importance of water and its life-sustaining properties, especially for agrarian communities. People offer thanks to nature for a bountiful monsoon and pray for prosperity, especially farmers who depend on river waters for irrigation.
Is Aadi Perukku a Religious Function in Temples?
- Primarily, Aadi Perukku is a socio-religious and nature-worship festival, more community-based than temple-centric.
- Rituals are often performed on riverbanks, where devotees (especially women) offer flowers, turmeric, kumkum, and food items to the flowing river, particularly the Cauvery.
- Some temples near riverbanks, especially in places like Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur, and Trichy, may observe special poojas, but these are not the main focus of the festival.
- Women pray for the well-being of their families and newlyweds celebrate it as part of their fertility and prosperity rites.
In essence, Aadi Perukku is more of a cultural thanksgiving to rivers and nature than a temple-centric religious festival, though temple visits may complement the day’s rituals.