Mangaluru: A low-key Nagara Panchami, the first festival in the holy month of Shravana, was celebrated in Kudupu Shree Anantha Padmanabha Temple on Saturday, July 25.
The main priest of the temple offered tender coconut, milk, honey, and turmeric to the god. However, no public is allowed to visit the temple today.
The authorities at the Ananthapadmanabha Temple at Kudupu have banned entry to devotees on the day of Naga Panchami due to the fear of Coronavirus infection.
The Ananthapadmanabha Temple is highly popular in Dakshina Kannada. It has been established to honor nagas (serpent deities). It is here that the festival of Naga Panchami is celebrated on a big scale during the moon’s waxing phase in the month of Shravana.
Legend has it that Ananthapadmanabha Temple was made by Raja Shurasena at the command of Lord Vishnu. Another legend says that a holy man had also done extreme penance to worship Lord Subramanya and Lord Vishnu at this very site.
