Sacred Nallur Kantha Swami festival attracts thousands

JAFFNA: The annual festival of the Nallur Kantha Swami festival in Jaffna commenced on Saturday with the Kodi Etram - the ceremony of flag hoisting to mark the beginning of the festival in the temple.

The day pooja (adoration of deities with rituals) is to be held with the temple deity taken in a procession within the inner court of the temple.

The evening pooja during the festival days will be held with the deity taken in procession at 4.45 pm. Temple authorities said the day’s pooja will be over by 5.30 pm for that day.

The temple flag was brought to the temple in procession on Thursday from the Theradi Murugan matt located at the Sattanathar Street.

The annual festival of the famous Nallur Kandasami Temple in the Jaffna peninsula is expected to draw tens of thousands of pilgrims from across Sri Lanka and also a few hundreds of Tamil expatriates from Western countries.

Nallur Kantha Swami Temple is one of the most important temples in the Jaffna peninsula.

- Asian Tribune