Annual “Koda” Festival Begins at Mondaikad Temple

MONDAIKAD:
The 10-day-long “Koda” festival” at the famed Bhagavathy temple at Mondaikad began today with the “Kodiyettu”(flag hoisting) ceremony, witnessed by thousands of devotees from different parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

West Bengal Governor Dr C V Ananda Bose, former Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan and former Kerala Minister V S Sivakumar were among a host of dignitaries who attended the rituals culminating in the hoisting of the temple flag at 8.30 am.

Helmed by temple ‘tantri’ Edakkode Sankaranarayana Iyer, the rituals were performed by temple priests amid chanting of “Amme Saranam, Devi Saranam”by the pilgrims.

The legendary Koda, the highpoint of the annual festival, will take place on March 11 attended by lakhs of devotees from the various regions of Tamil Nadu and the southern parts of Kerala.

“Valiyapadukka,” a major mid-night ritual of the festival, will be performed on March 7 and the procession of “Valiya Theevatti” on March 10, before the festival concludes with the “Odukku Pooja” at midnight on March 11.

Meanwhile, the 88th annual Hindu Maha Sammelan, organised by the Devaswom Board and Haindava (Hindu) Seva Sangham along with the festival, also commenced today.

Dr Ananda Bose inaugurated the meet by lighting the traditional lamp. A series of religious and cultural programmes and Hindu conventions are being held on all the ten days.

There has been a steady flow of pilgrims, mostly women, to the temple in the past one month, setting the tempo for the festival.

Although devotees offer ‘pongala’ at the temple daily, during the festival days their numbers swell to thousands, that too throughout day and night.

During the festival, thousands of devotees reach Mondaikad from south Kerala. In view of this, Tamil Nadu government has made elaborate arrangements to regulate the flow of pilgrims.

Special inter-state bus services are operated between Thiruvananthapuram and Mondaikad by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation.

The Tamil Nadu police has deployed more than 1000 special personnel and a contingent of Marine Police for security and crowd management. Several watchtowers have been installed around the temple, including the coastal stretches close to the shrine.

The Mondaikad Devi Temple is situated on the Arabian sea coast near Colachel of the erstwhile Travancore princely state. Despite being located in Tamil Nadu’s Kanniyakumari district, the temple rituals and its festivals are conducted as per the Kerala traditions. It was in 1803 that the former ruler of Travancore took over the administration of the temple. The temple is now administered by Kanniyakumari Devaswom Board.