Thousands of devotees throng to witness ‘Kodial Theru’

Thousands of devotees throng to witness ‘Kodial Theru’

Mangalore Today News Network

By Mahesh Nayak           Photos: Manju Neereshwallya

Mangalore, Jan 30, 2012: Tens of Thousands of devotees throng to Car Street in the city today to participate in the Car Festival of  Sri Venkatramana Temple. The Car Festival, better known by its Konkani name ‘Kodial Theru’, is the annual feast of this temple which belongs to the Gauda Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) community.  The five day festival commemorates the wedding of Lord Venkateshwara and Goddess Padmavathi. Incidentally Lord Veera Venkatesha is the presiding deity of the temple.

 

 

The five-day festival commences with the Dwajarohana on the first day, when the portrait of Garuda is hoisted up the silver flag post of the temple and stays aloft for the next six days. On all days there are Poojas, homas, yagas and other religious rituals in the temple in the morning and the deity taken around  the sanctum sanctorum in the temple complex in a palanquin. The fourth day is the day of ‘Mriga Bete’ or Deer Hunt, when the deity is taken in a long procession when a ritual hunt is enacted near the Naga Katte in Dongerkery. The procession ends in the Temple Square outside the temple and the deity is taken on a ride down Car Street on the small chariot.

 

The ‘Car’ in Car Festival actually refers to the chariot, which is made of wood and decorated with alternate rows of red and white flags.

The fifth day is the day of the big Car Festival. This the only day on which the Veera Venkatesha deity leaves the Sanctum Sanctorum and is placed on the Big Chariot. On other days it’s the Srinivas idol which serves the role of Utsava Moorthi or procession idol.

 

 

The big Car Festival commences with Ratharohana, the ceremonial way in which the deity ascends the chariot. Devotees then form a queue to offer pooja to the deity. Finally, close to midnight, the great chariot is pulled by the devotees to lower car street and on its return, its curtains down on Car Festival. However the next day– the supernumerary sixth day of the festival – is the festival of Holi, a day of great fun and frolic when men unabashedly bathe themselves on the streets with coloured water and indulge in crazy antics.

In line with the oddball theme, even the procession of the deity through the streets of Car Street and neigbhouring areas on Holi day is in reverse order. After the deity’s cleansing in the temple tank, the Garuda flag is lowered from the flag post signifying the end of the festival.

Every year lakhs of people participate in the five days of the Car Festival and it is customary for people living in far away cities and in foreign countries to return home during this period as it gives them a chance to meet relatives and friends.

One of the great attractions of Car Festival is the daily prasadam meal which all GSB people make it a point not to miss.

The Car Festival of this year is especially significant due to the fact that the 300-year old temple underwent complete renovation at a cost of Rs. 14 crore last year and the deity was reinstalled in a grand ceremony only two weeks back, on 16th January this year. So this the first post renovation Car Festival and there is much excitement among the community members due to the convergence of the two great events. They are also delighted that the Car Festival is taking place with the attendance of their spiritual guru Sri Sudheendra Thirtha Swami, the supreme pontiff of Sri Kashi Math Samsthan and his disciple and Pattashishya, Sri Samyameendra Swami who have been camping at the temple since January 10th to participate in the two events.