The annual Kataragama Esala festival is set to commence today in Sri Lanka with the flag hoisting ceremony. Devotees who started their Pada Yatra across weeks have reached Kataragama completing a journey of over 500 kilometres across difficult terrain on foot from as far afield as Jaffna in Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula.
The festival which is celebrated across faiths, is known to have deep bonds bridging India and Sri Lanka. Katharagama’s main temple of the Maha Devala is dedicated to the Hindu God of War, Skanda. Said to have six heads, twelve arms, twenty names and-two wives, Skanda is also ardently worshipped by Buddhists as the Katharagama Deviyo, while Muslims believe that the place has connection with Hazrat Khizr. The Perahara will feature fire ceremony on July 7, with Maha Perahera or the grand celebration scheduled for 10th of July.
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