Manjeshwar: The Snake-God has been worshipped in Tulu Nadu since time immemorial. On the occasion of Nagara Panchami, thousands of devotees thronged the Anantheshwar Temple in Manjeshwar, Kasargod on Monday, August 5.
In the ‘Shravan’ period, the fifth day of the lunar fortnight is known as Garuda Panchami and Nagara Panchami. The rituals demand that the Snake-God, engraved in stone, is bathed in rice and coconut water. Despite the pouring rain, thousands of devotees came to the Ananteshwara Temple in Manjeswara and performed special rituals at the Nagarakatte temple premises. These rituals included bathing the deity in milk.
Lord Anantheshwara, known as the lord of eighteen ‘peteyas’, was worshipped by thousands of devotees on Nagara Panchami. Devotees from Mangaluru, Udupi, Kundapur, Puttur, Hassan, Madikeri, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai visited the Manjeshwar temple to pay their respects to Lord Anantheswar.
Nagara Panchami is celebrated by Hindus in several parts of India. However, the festival is held in higher regard in Karnataka. On this day, it is customary to worship the Snake-God and Lord Vishnu.
Tulu Nadu celebrates ‘Nagar Panchami’ with fervour
The Purushurama-created Tulu Nadu or Dakshina Kannada district celebrated ‘Nagar Panchami’ with zeal and devotion. Devotees thronged temples since early morning and stood in line to offer their prayers to the Snake-God. In the Naga Deva, the head priest performed a five-day ritual of bathing the deity with milk, ghee, honey, and ‘kheer’.
