As the festival of Karthigai Deepam falls in Tamil Nadu, the state gets lit up with oil lamps called deepams or diyas. As dusk falls and the onset of evening sets in, Tamilians celebrate this festival with Diyas or Deepams to brighten up their homes on the auspicious day of Karthigai Deepam.
As the festival falls on the Karthigai Nakshatra day, the festival has aptly been named as Karthigai/Karthikai Deepam and is dedicated to the Almighty Lord Shiva. The lighting of lamps mark the significance of Lord Shiva’s supremacy over other Gods such as God Vishnu and Brahma Bhagwan in accordance with information from holy Hindu scriptures, wherein it is said that on the Karthigai Nakshatra Day, Lord Shiva transformed himself into eternal flame.
Being a nakshatra, Karthigai obviously occurs every month, but the Hindu Calendar marks the auspicious festival on the Karthigai nakshatra day of Vrischika maasam for worship and celebration.
The highest level of celebration for Karthigai Deepam is seen on the well known Tiruvannamalai Hills. Here a massive lamp called as Mahadeepam is lit up with fire that can be observed from far off places. Shiva devotees throng here in worship to this holy place on the auspicious day of Karthigai Deepam while the Karthigai Nakshatra is prevailing.