THENI: The Mangaladevi Kannagi temple at Kannagi Kottam in Theni, once again united the people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, during its annual festival on Chitra Pournami. Over 40,000 devotees from both states worshipped the temple deity on Friday.
Mangaladevi Kannagi temple is located atop a hill between Kumuli in Tamil Nadu's Theni district and Thekkady in Kerala's Idukki district. The devotees moved from the temple in Kumuli to Kannagi Kottam through a hilly path while they sang hymns. Some of them also took another route via Paziyankudi, which is a hard trek that spans 6.6 km. The temple sits at an altitude of about 1,337 m (4,386 ft) above the mean sea level. Surrounded by lush greenery, the Mullai Periyar dam reservoir is visible from the temple.
The temple is believed to have been built by Cheran Chenguttuvan, a Chera dynasty ruler, some 2,000 years ago. It is constructed on stones, most of which have worn off. Even the idol of Kannagi is in a dilapidated condition. There is also a Perumal idol nearby, maintained by the Theni district administration. The Idukki administration, meanwhile, maintains another stone temple shrine in the area, and priests from Kerala offer poojas there. The devotees from both districts, however, worship at all three stone temples.
On Friday, women from Kerala and Tamil Nadu prepared Pongal, offered it to their respective deities, and distributed it to the devotees as 'prasadam'. Office bearers of the Kannagi trust distributed 'annadhanam' to all the devotees, which was prepared at Cumbum and brought to them on tractors.
People from both states believe that Kannagi comes down from heaven on the day to bless the devotees. They believe that worshipping the deity on Chitra Pournami would please the deity who would then bestow wealth, peace, and happiness in their lives. They also believe that Kannagi is a symbol of women's empowerment.
Mullai Periyar Vaigai Farmers Federation President MKM Muthuramalingam urged the Tamil Nadu government to lay a road from Paziyankudi to Kannagi Kottam. He said this would make the temple more accessible to the devotees who come to offer poojas. "In one single day, the Idukki district administration has earned more revenue by operating jeeps up the hill for the devotees. If the Tamil Nadu government can do necessary arrangements, it will generate a continuous income for them too," he added.
Devotees from both districts were allowed from 6 am to 2.30 pm. Since the notorious wild elephant named 'Arisi komban' was recently released in the Mullai Periyar Reserve Forest area located near the Kannagi temple, more forest department personnel were deployed in all places in order to prevent any untoward incident involving the said wild elephant. However, on Friday, 'Arisi komban' was found roaming in the Manalaru area.
Both the district administrations had made elaborate arrangements for the festival and provided basic facilities, ambulances, and jeeps for picking up and dropping devotees from Kumuli to Kannagi Kottam.