Kosagumuda ,Feb, 11: The famous Magha Mandei Yatra was celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm on Friday at Kosagumuda. The festival is observed over three days, with the main rituals and worship taking place on Friday and Saturday.
This Mandei Yatra is dedicated to Bhandaruni, the consort of the village’s presiding deity, Raj Chhaunria. Initially, devotees from Kosagumuda and nearby Barpali village gathered at a common place carrying traditional items such as sticks (lathi), ceremonial staffs, and palanquins. Following tribal customs, they offered prayers near the Gadimai temple. Thereafter, they jointly circumambulated the temples of the village goddess and other local deities in Kosagumuda.
Later, all devotees assembled at the temple of the chief village deity, Raj Chhaunria, where special prayers and rituals were performed. Representatives with traditional lathis and ceremonial groups from 26 panchayats of the surrounding region participated in the Mandei Yatra, with nearly 300 big and small lathi groups taking part.
On the first day, more than 50,000 devotees gathered, creating a huge turnout at the festival. According to the temple priest, the crowd on the second day is expected to be nearly double. To manage the large gathering, the Kosagumuda and Kodinga police stations made elaborate security arrangements. Strict checking was carried out at major junctions and crowded areas. Public announcements were made through loudspeakers to create awareness among people regarding theft, pickpocketing, and the safety of children.
This tribal Magha Mandei Yatra is held once every year. The tribal community believes that performing the Mandei Yatra protects the region from diseases and epidemics and ensures a good harvest for the year. The tradition has been followed since ancient times.
Among those responsible for organizing the rituals were Sarpanch Dalimba Majhi, former Sarpanch Haribandhu Majhi, Bhuvaneswar Nayak, Madhusudan Bhatra, Laxman Pujari, Amzad Khan, Sudarshan Nayak, and Chandan Sahu. Members of the village committee and respected locals present included Purnachandra Choudhury, Chingudu Bisoyi, K.N. Raju, Netu Pujari, V. Prasad Rao, M. Mohan Rao, Block Vice-Chairman Jogendra Swain, Dr. Lipika Majhi, former MP Balabhadra Majhi, Mathur Gupta, Kishore Sahu, Kuna Nayak, and Kusia Majhi.
The chief guests included Dabugam MLA Manohar Randhari, Nabarangpur MLA Gouri Shankar Majhi, Jharigaon MLA and District BJP President Kunjabihari Das, Block Chairperson Sarbeshwari Majhi, and local BDO Ashish Tripathy. Distinguished guests from outside the state included former Zilla Parishad member Jagita Mondavi of Jagdalpur, Shankar Gupta (President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Jagdalpur), Surendra Tiwari (VHP member, Jagdalpur), Prasad Rao, MP representative Suresh Patra, MLA representative Samanath Pujari, Chandradhwaj Majhi, Komulu Harijan, Ratan Majhi, Arjun Bhatra, Sudarshan Nayak, M. Mohan Rao, Amzad Khan, Chandan Sahu, along with members of the Mandei Committee’s youth wing and other dignitaries.
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