Thrissur: The 10-day annual festival at the Sri Krishna Temple in Guruvayur will start with the traditional ‘Kodiyettam’ (flag hoisting ceremony) scheduled for Wednesday, February 21. Festivities will begin with the ‘anayilla seeveli’ at 7 am, followed by the historic elephant race in the afternoon.
Guruvayur devaswom authorities have announced the participation of 10 elephants in the race, which will be witnessed by hundreds of Sree Krishna devotees and festival enthusiasts. However, for safety reasons, only three elephants will be allowed to run, while the remaining will walk the distance from Manjulal, the starting point of the race, up to the eastern gate of the temple. The first elephant to reach the eastern gate will be the winner.
This annual celebration, known as the Guruvayur Festival or Guruvayur Thiruvulsavam, takes place in the Malayalam month of Kumbha (February–March) at the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple, one of Kerala’s most renowned and oldest temples. The festival begins with Koditettam, the hoisting of the temple flag atop the flagstaff on the Punartam Nakshathra (Pushya star).
Starting tomorrow, the second day of the festival, the Lord’s golden Thidambu (a gold-plated replica of Elephant Caparison) will be ceremonially placed in the golden pavilion on the south side of the nalambalam in the morning and placed on the north side at night. ‘Pallivetta’, where Lord Sree Krishna embarks on a ceremonial procession for a royal hunt, scheduled for the 29th. The festival will culminate with the lowering of the seven-coloured flag from the golden flagstaff after six o’clock on March 1.
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