The famous ‘koda' festival at the Mandaikadu Devi temple, near here, got under way on Sunday; thousands of devotees from Kerala and Tamil Nadu witnessed the flag-hosting ceremony led by ‘tantri' Edakkode Mahadeva Iyer.
The koda festival is the most important event at the temple located near Colachel. The area was part of erstwhile Travancore and the rituals in the temple are done in the traditional tantric way of Kerala.
The temple is believed to have been consecrated by the legendary Parasurama. In 1803, the king of Travancore took over the temple.
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During the 10-day festival which precedes the ‘koda' about four lakh devotees are estimated to visit the temple daily.
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs special services to the temple during this festival.
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Transport and Devaswom Minister V.S. Sivakumar was the chief guest at the Hindu convention that is held in connection with the festival at Mandaikadu.
The convention that began on Sunday was the 75 of its kind. Addressing the convention, Mr. Sivakumar said the KSRTC would consider operating more services to Mandaikadu.