Thai Pūsam 2341

Thai Pūsam (also spelled Thaipūsam) is one of the most significant festivals dedicated to Lord Murugan (Kārtikeya, Subrahmaṇya), falling on the day Puṣya Nakṣatra rules sāyaṅkāla during the Sun's transit through Makara rāśi: the Tamil month of Thai.

The festival commemorates the occasion when Goddess Pārvatī gave Murugan the Vel (divine spear) to vanquish the demon Sūrapadman. Devotees mark the day by carrying Kāvaḍi (ornate structures borne on the shoulders) on foot, often to hilltop Murugan temples, as an act of penance and thanksgiving. Some devotees pierce the skin, cheeks, or tongue with skewers as an extreme form of the same vow.

Thai Pūsam is celebrated with particular grandeur at Palani and other Murugan shrines across Tamil Nadu, and draws vast crowds at temples abroad, most famously the Batu Caves in Malaysia and temples in Singapore, wherever Tamil communities have settled.