KOCHI: Kalamboor Kavu temple, situated on the banks of the Muvattupuzha River, witnessed an unprecedented flow of devotees at the Pana festival last Wednesday and Thursday. The Pana festival, an ancient festival in the state, observed to please Goddess Bhagavathy, consists of the rituals pana thullal and uru thullal.
The temple in the Piravom panchayat was visited by devotees from across the state.
Though devotees from all communities made it to the two-day annual festival, members from the Dheevara community were the main participants.
The procession carrying the urus (the statues of lord Bheeman and Garudan) was the highlight of the festival. The Garudan uru and Bheema uru were constructed by the Mulakulam Deevara Samithi and the Mevelloor Deevara Samithi respectively. The uru’s being taken to the temple on a raft with a chenda performance in the background was viewed by hundreds of devotees from the banks of the river.
The rituals of uru and pana thullal, based on the mythical story of the war between Bhagavathy and Dharikan commemorates the journey of Bhagavathy and his warriors to the battle field.
During the festival the ‘pana’ performers enacted the role of the warriors of Bhagavathy.
The pana thullal was performed after the urus were taken to the temple ground.
Pana performers normally fast for seven days before performing the rituals. They appear for the ritual in a special attire consisting of a white dhoti, a red girdle and a panakutty (gadha). A procession went from the temple premises to Pana Nada (battle field) during the festival. After portraying the destruction of Dharikan the procession reverted to the temple.
According to mythology a special feast was arranged for the warriors by Bhagavathy after the war, named pana kanji (a gruel). To commemorate this a special meal of rice, jackfruit and horse-gram was made at the temple and served to all the devotees.
The pana kanji was served in plates made from the spathe of the arecanut tree. The ritual Guradan thookkam was also performed on Friday.
A chenda recital by Pazhoor Narayana Marar, Thirumarayoor Girijan Marar and Rajash Marar was another highlight of the festival.