Thai Masam Maavilakku

The tradition of Thai masam Maavilakku:  The months of Aadi and Thai are very auspicious  for the worship of Goddesses Lakshmi, Ambal or Sakthi and Mariamman or Kaval Deivam.  It is an age old practice and tradition of worshipping the Goddesses by lighting Maavilakku at homes or in temples.  Maavilakku Lighting is sure to give prosperity and well being of the family and its progeny.

Let me describe below the procedure for making the Maavilakku and lighting the same.    

Firstly, on the day of lighting, we have to be clean (madi) and with a sense of involvement.    

     

To Prepare Maavilakku necessary ingredients are:

Raw Rice 200 gms

Powdered Jaggery 200 gms

Elaichi desired measure

Ghee for lighting the lamp

Cotton (elavam panju thiri) not hospital cotton

Wash the rice and soak it for half an hour. Then drain it for about half an hour or till it is drained fully but still is moist. Then grind it in the mixie, sieve the contents. Do this until all the rice is turned into flour. Mix the Jaggery and elaichi with rice flour till all the lumps in the Jaggery disappear .Keep this mixture in a plate or a broad vessel and form it as a mound. Flat the mound at the top. Then make two holes each apart by two inches. Make thiri with the cotton. Place the thiris in the holes. Pour liquid ghee into them. Place flowers, broken coconut and betel nuts and leaves as you please near the mixture or separately and light the Maavilakku with all bhakthi and fervor. After the Pooja is over dip a flower petal in the milk and gently put off the light in the Maavilakku. Later add shredded coconut to the Maavilakku maavu and can be taken as prasadam by you and your family and distributed to friends and relatives.

The rice and jaggery mix can also be made into two balls to make two individual lamps. It all depends on one’s family tradition. If it is done to create a tradition choose one of the modes and it should be followed strictly thereafter.

Lighting Maavilakku is also a tradition in the worship of Venkatachalapathi (Sri Balaji of Tirupathi) as Kuladeivam of families in their homes on a Saturday in the month of Puratasi while performing Samaradhanai or in the temple. For the worship of Venkatachalapathi, the mixture should be made as a mound and only one hole should be made and only one lamp should be lit. For this Pooja the lamp should be alight until the brahmana bhojanam is completed. So continue adding ghee to keep the lamp alight.