Karnataka: Yadgir villagers worship scorpions on Naga Panchami
Villagers in Karnataka's Yadgir district worship and play with scorpions on the auspicious occasion of Naga Panchami. Interestingly no cases of scorpion stings have been ever reported from here.
In Short
- Villagers worship and play with scorpions on Naga Panchami.
- The temple in Yadgir attracts thousands of scorpions on the occasion.
- No cases of scorpion stings have been reported from the temple.
Villagers from the Yadgir district in Karnataka have been stung by scorpion love! Every year during Naga Panchami, the people of Kandkoor village, some 20 kms from Yadgir worship the idol of a scorpion. They don't stop just there, they let scorpions crawl on their bodies.
On the auspicious day of Naga Panchami when most people in the country worship the snake God, the villagers of Kandkoor worship the scorpion Goddess Kondammai.
DEVOTEES TREK TO REACH TEMPLE
People begin trekking in the afternoon to reach the scorpion temple where they offer prayers to the Goddess. Singing folk songs along the way they make their way up the hill called the 'Chellina Betta' or the hill of scorpions. You can actually see the young and old heading towards the temple. But the sight at the temple is mind boggling.
Milk is offered to the Scorpion goddess and also to the idol of a snake. Apart from this devotees also offer sarees, coconuts and oil while praying for good health and prosperity. Once done children and elders start catching live scorpions which are found crawling near the temple and start playing with them. Children play with these scorpions and even place them on their faces, tongues and shoulders.
SCORPION FLOCK TEMPLE ON NAGA PANCHAMI
What is interesting is that thousands of scorpions come to the temple only on Naga Panchami day. They are not found in any other day near this temple. After a few hours, the live scorpions are collected by the villagers and offered to the Goddess by pouring them over the idol.
Interestingly, there have been no cases of people being stung by these scorpions. The villagers believe that it instills more faith among those who come all the way from nearby districts and the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to be a part of this religious ceremony.
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