Paṅguṉi Uttiram is the day when Uttara Phalgunī nakṣatra falls in the Tamil solar month Paṅguṉi, usually on or near the full moon. Tamil temple tradition assigns a cluster of divine weddings to it, among them Śiva and Pārvatī, Murugan and Deivānai, Rāma and Sītā, and Āṇḍāḷ and Raṅganātha. Because of these kalyāṇams the day is held to honour gṛhastha dharma, the sanctity of married household life. In Kerala the same nakṣatra is celebrated as the birthday of Ayyappan. How the day is fixed: The day is the one on which Uttara Phalgunī nakṣatra prevails at local sunrise during the solar month Paṅguṉi, when the Sun is in Mīna. Keep in mind: The day usually falls on or near the full moon in March or April. In some years it coincides with the Phālguna full moon of Holī and Dol, and in others it moves toward the following full moon. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Temple kalyāṇams: Temples across Tamil Nadu stage the divine weddings, with Gauri Kalyāṇam at Ekāmbaranāthar in Kāñcipuram and Murugan's wedding to Deivānai at Tirupparaṅkunṟam. Murugan temples add kāvaḍi, with Palani especially known for it, and Śiva temples take the deities out in procession. Serthi at Srirangam: At Srirangam the day is Raṅganāyakī's avatāra day, marked by the Maṭṭayadi Utsavam, a staged quarrel of the divine couple, and the Serthi reunion that follows. Tradition holds that Rāmānuja offered his Śaraṇāgati Gadyam on this day. At home: Household observance is light. Many families visit a nearby temple for the kalyāṇam darśana, keep a simple fast or a sattvic meal, and recite the Subrahmaṇya Aṣṭottara or Subrahmaṇya Bhujaṅgam. Worth remembering: Paṅguṉi Uttiram is a Tamil temple observance, separate from the Phālguna full-moon festivals of Holī, Dol and Kāmuni Punnami even when they fall on the same day. It is also distinct from Śrī Rāma Navamī, when the Sītā Rāma kalyāṇam is celebrated at Bhadrācalam. Each temple's sthala purāṇa decides which wedding takes the lead, and each family decides how the day is kept. Some make the journey to the kula-deivam shrine, others simply attend the local kalyāṇam, and in Kerala devotees mark Ayyappan's birthday. The surest guide is what the elders of one's own house have followed.
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