Puraṭṭāsi Śanikkiḻamai 2000

Purattasi Sanikizhamai (புரட்டாசி சனிக்கிழமை) is every Saturday of the Tamil month Purattasi, the month of Perumal, Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala, whose Brahmotsavam falls in this season.

Many families keep the whole month vegetarian, and on the Saturdays they fast until the evening puja. The Maavilakku, a lamp shaped from rice flour and jaggery with a ghee wick, is lit before the Lord, and the family offers it with tulasi and sweet pongal. Perumal temples across Tamil Nadu draw long queues, and many walk to Tirumala or to the Venkateswara temples near their homes.

Saturday is also Shani's day, and devotees pray to Perumal to soften Shani's hardships.