Mondaikad Koda Festival begins

T’puram: The 10-day-long annual ‘Koda’ Festival at the Mondaikad Bhagavathy Temple in Kanyakumari began on Sunday with the traditional ‘kodiyettu’ ceremony.
Amidst loud chants of ‘Devi Saranam’, 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.
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.
‘Valiyapadukka’, one of the major rituals of the festival, will be held on March 6 and the procession of ‘valiya theevatti’ falls on March 9. The legendary ‘Koda’ will take place on March 10. The festival will conclude on March 10 with ‘odukku pooja” at midnight.
Although devotees offer pongala at the temple every day, on festival days, their number swells to thousands. tnn