Ten-day “Koda” Festival Begins at Mondaikad Temple

MONDAIKAD (TAMIL NADU):
The 10-day-long annual “Koda” festival at the famed Mondaikad Bhagavathy Temple in this coastal town got off to a solemn start today with the traditional flag-unfurling (Kodiyettu) ceremony in the presence of thousands of fervent devotees from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

As devotees chanted “Devi Saranam” the temple Tantri Edakkode S Mahadeva Iyer and temple Head Priest Chattanatha Kurukkal initiated the festival rites in the presence of Telangana Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Tamil Nadu government’s special representative in Delhi, Thalavai Sundaram, A Vijayakumar, MP, District Collector Prashant M Wadnere, Superintendent of Police Dr. N Sreenath, Kanniyakumari Devaswom Board Chairman Shiva Kuttalam and J G Prince, MLA.

The legendary Koda will take place on March 10 attended by lakhs of devotees from the various regions of Tamil Nadu and the southern parts of Kerala.

“Valiyapadukka,” one of the major rituals conducted during the festival, will be held on March 6 and the procession of “Valiya Theevatti” on March 9. The festival ends on March 10 with the “Odukku Pooja” at midnight.

Although devotees offer pongala at the temple daily, on festival days, their number swells to thousands. During the festival season, thousands of devotees come to Mondaikad from south Kerala. Keeping that in view the Tamil Nadu government has made elaborate arrangements to regulate the flow of pilgrims.

The Tamil Nadu police has deployed 2,500 special police and a contingent of Marine Police to as part of security preparations and control the queues. As many as 10 watchtowers have been installed around the temple including the coastal areas.

As part of an agreement between the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments, an additional 32 bus services are run daily between the two states during the festival.

The Mondaikad Devi Temple is situated off the sea coast in Colachel of the erstwhile Travancore princely state. Despite being in Tamil Nadu the temple and its festivals are run as per the rites and traditions followed in Kerala. 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.

Meanwhile, the 83rd Hindu Maha Sammelan organised by the Haindava Seva Sangham got off to a start on Sunday with Swami Chaitanyananda Maharaj, head of the Vellimala Vivekananda Ashram inaugurating it.

Telangana Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan lighted the ceremonial lamp and former Kerala Minister V S Sivakumar spoke.