Āṉi Tirumañcaṉam 2202: Pomona, California

Āṉi Tirumañcaṉam, also known as Āṉi Uttiram, is one of the six annual Abhiṣekam days observed for Lord Naṭarāja at the Cidambaram Temple, together known as Śrī Naṭarāja Abhiṣekam. It falls in the Tamil month of Āṉi, on the day Uttara Phalgunī nakṣatra (Uttiram) rules sunrise, while the Sun transits Mithuna rāśi.

Unlike the four Caturdaśī-based Abhiṣekam days of this group, Āṉi Tirumañcaṉam is timed to the pre-dawn hours: the nakṣatra should be present at sunrise, or, for a short (kṣaya) occurrence that never rules a sunrise outright, cover the sacred hours just before dawn, on whichever day it falls.

Āṉi Tirumañcaṉam is among the most widely celebrated of the six, marked at Cidambaram with an elaborate ceremonial bathing (tirumañcaṉam) of Lord Naṭarāja, drawing large crowds of devotees for the pre-dawn and morning darśan.