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{{short description|Indian ritual}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{for multi|the 1979 film|Aarattu (1979 film)|the 2022 film|Aaraattu (2022 film)}}
[[File:ArattupuzhaPooram12.JPG|thumb|''Ārāttu'' at [[Arattupuzha Pooram]]]]
[[File:Aarattu.jpg|thumb|Bathing the idol at an ''ārāttu'']]
[[File:Arattumandapam at Shankumugham beach.jpeg|thumb|An ''ārāttu'' [[mandapa|mandapam]] at [[Shankumugham Beach]]]]
[[File:Pooram Kuli-Aarattu Festival in Veerabhadra temple-Cheruvathur-Kasarkod District-Kerala-India.jpg|thumb|''Ārāttu'' at [[temple tank]] of Veerabhadra temple, [[Kasaragod]]]]
'''Ārāttu''' ({{IPA|ml|aːraːʈʈə|pron}}) is an annual ritual performed during [[Hindu]] temple festivals in [[Kerala]], India, in which a priest bathe the idol of a [[deity]] by dipping it in a river or a [[temple tank]]. It is mainly carried out at the end of a temple festival. ''Ārāttu'' is celebrated twice annually—the [[Spring (season)|spring]] festival (March - April) and the [[autumn]] festival (October - November). A festival normally lasts 10 days.<ref name=TOI>{{cite news|title=Want to experience Kerala in its full glory? Aarattu festival is the answer|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/want-to-experience-kerala-in-its-full-glory-aarattu-festival-is-the-answer/as68357123.cms|access-date=15 November 2020|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=11 March 2019}}</ref>

==Major festivals==
One of the important Arattu in [[Kerala]] is conducted at [[Padmanabhaswamy Temple]], [[Thiruvananthapuram]] by [[Travancore royal family]], procession is carried out to [[Shankumugham Beach]] for the ceremony.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bayi |first1=Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi |title=Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple: The bond has only grown stronger |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/the-bond-has-only-grown-stronger/article32473249.ece |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=29 August 2020}}</ref><ref name="youtube_2013">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZupq7AlvI Arattu at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple 2013]</ref> The operations at the [[Trivandrum International Airport]] stops twice a year for the procession to pass through the runway to the Shankumugham Beach.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Kerala airport halts flights to make way for 'God' |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala-airport-flights-thiruvananthapuram-padmanabhaswamy-procession-5446164/ |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |date=14 November 2018}}</ref> At [[Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Swamy Temple]], the festival starts with a flag hoisting, after bathing the deities, ''ambalappuzha palpayasam'' (a sweet pudding) is offered to the gods.<ref name=TOI/> The eight-day long festival at [[Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple]], [[Thrippunithura]] is concluded with an ''aaraattu''.<ref>{{cite news |title=After Covid lockdown, festival days return to Tripunithura |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2020/nov/15/after-covid-lockdown-festival-days-return-to-tripunithura-2223713.html |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=[[The New Indian Express]] |date=15 November 2020}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
A 1979 Malayalam film directed by [[I. V. Sasi]] was titled ''[[Aarattu (1979 film)|Aarattu]]'', and a 2021 film directed by [[B. Unnikrishnan]] also use the [[Aaraattu (film)|same title]], both the films are otherwise unrelated to the ritual.

==See also==
* [[Brahmotsavam]]
* [[Padmanabhaswamy Temple]]
* [[Travancore royal family]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Culture of Kerala}}
{{Tourism in Kerala}}
{{Hindu temples in Kerala}}

[[Category:Culture of Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:Hindu festivals in Kerala]]


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