Manjeshwar, Subramanya Shasti Celebrated

Manjeshwar, Subramanya Shasti Celebrated

Mahesh Nayak - Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Nov 24: The famed Manjeshwar Shasti, annual car festival of Srimad Anantheshwara Temple, Manjeshwar was celebrated on 23rd November with due fanfare.

 

Annual car festival of Srimad Anantheshwara Temple, Manjeshwar (Pic: Manju, Neereshwalya)

Of the many festivals in the Temple, the annual Car festival which falls on the sixth day of the bright half of the month of "Margshirsha" (November / December) is the most important. The day is known in popular parlance as the "Manjeshwar Shasti" and coincides with "Skhanda Shasti" in other parts of South India. On that day, the six - wheeled chariot called "Brahma Ratha" is pulled along the Car Street. The "Ratha" has a base 17 feet square, a height of 17 feet in raw and a maximum girth of 53 feet. But when decked for the occasion with all its decorative appurtenances, it rises to a height of 71 feet, and affords an unforgettable experience of solemnity and grandeur as it moves amidst a soothing mass of human heads. The Ratha was built in 1834 A.D.

Skhanda Shasti, which is a tribute paid to snake gods, too falls on this day. Among the ancient Hindu gods and goddesses the Naga is one of the most prominent one. According to the Puranas, before the advent of man, reptiles-snakes ruled the surface of the earth. When god wanted to create mankind, Lord Brahma wanted this species to be protected so he asked the snake god to go underground and live there. If mankind did not behave well, the world of Naga would surface again to bring safety to the earth.

 

To bind the mankind with the earliest occupants of the earth namely Nagas, on both Nagarapanchami and Subramanya Shesti, special poojas are offered in various Subramanya temples. In Dakshina Kannada there are two well known temples namely the Anantha Padmanabha temple at Kudupu and Kukke Subramanya temple at Subramanya in Sullia Taluk. Thousands of devotees throng to these temple and offer Ashlesha Bali, Sarpa Sankula, Urulu Seva, Sarpa Samskara and many other poojas and sevas are offered.