Cauvery Theerthodbhava held at Talacauvery

A large number of devotees gathered at Talacauvery in the district early Tuesday morning to witness Cauvery Theerthodbhava. The entire Brahmagiri range was decked with greenery amid drizzle.

At 12.32 pm, Cauvery Theerthodbhava, an annual ritual to mark the gushing of water from a spring in a tank in Talacauvery, was witnessed by thousands of devotees.

As the water sprang from the Brahma Kundike, the devotees chanted, “Cauvery Matha Ki Jai...” “Jai Jai Matha Cauvery Matha...” They also bathed in the waters of the pushkarni (temple tank) and sprinkled the holy water ‘theertha’ from the ‘Brahma Kundike.’

The devotees thronged to collect the theertha in bottles, pots and cans. They offered prayers for good rainfall. Earlier, 18 priests led by chief priest Ananthakrishnachar, Ramakrishnachar, Narayanachar carried out special prayer rituals. “Mahasankalpa Pooje,” “Rudrabhisheka” “Kumkumarchane” and “Maha Mangalarathi” were also held.

Temple Takka head Kodi Motayya said, “It is a belief that the sprinkling of theertha from Brahma Kundike wards off diseases.”

Last year owing to the row between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over sharing of Cauvery water, the devotees from Tamil Nadu had remained absent during Theerthodbhava. This year, a large number of devotees from Tamil Nadu took part in the event.

On the other hand, MP Prathap Simha, MLA M P Appachu Ranjan, MLCs Sunil Subrahmani, and Veena Achaiah, Zilla Panchayat president B A Harish, District In-charge Minister M R Seetharam were conspicuous by their absence.

Mass feeding

The 23rd year of mass feeding was organised by Kodagu Ekikarana Ranga.

Farmers from Mandya too held mass feeding separately. Farmers from Mandya led by MLCs N Appaji Gowda, K T Srikante Gowda offered prayers to River Cauvery.