Aadi is one of the most auspicious months in the Tamil calendar, and Aadi Perukku is a day which is celebrated grandly on the 18th day of this month.

This festival marks the time the Cauvery river overflows due to the monsoon rain, giving an abundance of water source for the people who experience water shortage most of the time.

Hence the reason this festival is called Aadi Perukku, which denotes rising in the month of Aadi. Water sources such as river, lakes, water tanks and wells are worshipped as Goddess Amman on this day.

It is believed that everything we do on this day will prosper, whether it's doing good deeds, buying golds, planting crops and so on. That's why this day is celebrated as the day for prosperity and fertility.

Ritual of changing the thali thread

Among the many rituals of Aadi Perukku is the ritual of replacing and renewing the thali string. Thali, also known as mangalyam, is a sacred yellow string tied by a groom to his bride during a traditional Hindu wedding.

On this auspicious day, sumangalis (married women) replace the yellow string on their Thali with the hopes of getting abundance of happiness.

It is a common practice to visit a temple located near to the river banks and pray to Goddess Amman. After that, the sumangalis get a new thali string from elderly married ladies, who bless them to live a long blissful marriage life.

After the customary change to a new yellow string, the old strings are then left in the river. But if you're unable to visit the temple, you can follow the same ritual at home by inviting an elderly married woman to bless the new thali string for you.

The string should be changed by afternoon, and it is also important to get your husband's blessing on this day.

These are the important rituals that should be conducted on this day:




Source: Secrets of Ancient India