Amidst a religiously surcharged atmosphere, relentless chanting of Vedic hymns by a group of priests and frenzy of devotees, the famous ‘Teertodbhava’, the annual spectacle, occurred at Talacauvery at 6.04 p.m. on Friday, at the foothills of the mighty Brahmagiri mountains in Kodagu. Thousands of people witnessed the event.
The holy water (teertha) sprang up from the tiny pond ‘Brahmakundike’ even as the priests started pouring out the ‘teertha’ on the devotees who jumped into the main pond to get the glimpse of the occurrence and collect it in containers. Wafting wind and passing mist across the mighty hills lent a special aura to the whole episode in which the devotees basked in the glory of reverence. Goddess Cauvery, the presiding deity of Kodavas, Kodagu in general, is said to emerge as holy spring during the occasion.
The occurrence will also signal the beginning of the month-long Cauvery jatra during which devotees throng the Triveni Sangama — confluence of Cauvery, Kannike and Sujyoti rivers — to take holy dips and offer puja at the Sri Bhagandeshwara temple complex. Later, they will proceed to Talacauvery.
As usual, men with tonsured heads jumped into the main pond to gather in front of the Brahmakundike minutes before the occurrence. The “prabhavali” at the sanctum sanctorum close to the Brahmakundike was bedecked with grand floral arrangements. Kodava men in uniform rendered traditional ‘dudikottpat’ (dudi is a small drum).
Kodagu district in-charge Minister K.J. George, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra, Irrigation Minister, M.B. Patil, and Madikeri MLA, M.P. Appachu Ranjan, were among those who attended the event.
Free food arrangements were made at the choultry near the shrine and other locations. Police had a tough time managing the surging crowd and steady flow of vehicles.
The stretch of road from Bhagamandala-Talacauvery was illuminated. Cultural programmes were organised at Talacauvery.
