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PENANG, MALAYSIA, September 8, 2003: About 150 women gathered at the Sri Mangala Nayagi Amman Temple in Bukit Mertajam recently to participate in the Thiruvillaku Puja (oil lamp lighting ceremony). The ceremony, also known as Varalakshmi Puja, was conducted by Rukumani Krishnasamy, 59, who has been conducting religious functions all over the country for the past 40 years. According to Rukumani, the puja, which dates back more than 5,000 years, is performed in accordance with the Hindu shastras during the Adi month (July/August). “The ceremony is usually conducted by married women to seek Goddess Mahalakshmi’s protection for continued good health, long life for their husbands and prosperity, besides peace, harmony, happiness, spiritual knowledge and wisdom,” she said. The women are normally encouraged to fast or follow a strict vegetarian diet, ideally for nine days before the puja for purification of body, mind and soul. The women started their prayer by first lighting up the five-faced kuttu vilaku (oil lamp). Rukumani explained that the five faces of the lamp signifies the five good values that should be possessed by a Hindu woman — love, confidence, be a good companion to their husband, patience and willpower.

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