Mallikarjuna Temple, Canacona – Festivals

Mallikarjuna Temple, Canacona – Festivals

Jatra:

The annual festival (Jatra) held at the temple is quite unique among the temple festivals of Goa. Early morning on the day of the festival, the idol of the deity is taken out in a procession which travels for almost 2–3 hours to reach the nearby Rajbag beach. A number of rituals including a special bath for the deity are held at the beach, after which the deity is taken back to the temple. Hundreds of devotees have a holy bath at the same time on the seashore.

Shisharani:

This typical ritual alternates every year with the Veeramel celebration held at the time of the traditional Shigmo festival. The word Shisharani is supposed to mean a cooking place on top of a human head. This ritual involves cooking rice in an earthenware kept on the head of three men who sleep on the ground with their heads touching each other and fire is lit between the heads to cook the rice. The heads are covered with wet cloth and layers of plantain trunk.

Veeramel:

This celebration is held once every two years at the time of the traditional Shigmo festival. During this celebration which occurs close to midnight, selected local youth who are called Gade, rush from house to house with swords in their hands followed by people with drums and other musical instruments.

Avatar Purush:

These are actually smaller deities called Avatar Purush located at three nearby places: Asali, Khalvade and Bhatpal where they are worshipped. But once a year, they are taken in a magnificent procession at night to the main temple at Sristhal.

Other Festivals:

Rathasaptami in February and Shigmotsav in April are the other festivals celebrated here.