Kartika Purnima Kartika Purnima, or Karthika Pournami, is a major full-moon observance within the Telugu month devoted especially to Shiva and Vishnu. Lamps, temple visits, scriptural readings, and acts of charity give the day its devotional character. Some traditions associate it with Shiva's destruction of the three cities of Tripura; Varanasi's Dev Deepavali has its own celebrated public expression. A day of worship Devotees may begin with an early bath and prayers. A rive