On Nagara Panchami, devotees handle live scorpions in this village

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A devotee holding a live scorpion on her hand, during the annual scorpion fair at Kondammai temple in Kandakur village on Monday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Hundreds of devotees from Yadgir district and neighbouring parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh gathered at Kandakur village in Gurumitkal taluk on Monday to participate in an unusual Nagara Panchami tradition — worshipping and handling live scorpions.

The annual “scorpion fair”, held at the hillock where the Kondammai Temple is located, has been observed for nearly six decades. Unlike the customary practice of offering milk to snake idols during Nagara Panchami, devotees at Kandakur worship a stone idol of Goddess Kondammai that resembles a scorpion.

On Monday, after offering milk and prayers at the shrine, devotees, including women, children and the elderly, searched for scorpions beneath rocks on the hillock. Those who found them placed the creatures on their hands, shoulders and faces as part of the traditional ritual.

Devotees believe that scorpions emerge in large numbers on Nagara Panchami and do not sting because of the “divine protection” of Goddess Kondammai.

Jayalaxmi, a visitor from Narayanpet, said she had been attending the festival almost every year and had no fear of handling the scorpions.

The festival, which was once largely confined to the surrounding villages, has attracted growing numbers of devotees from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in recent years.

The devotees also believe that if a person is stung, the pain subsides after Bhandar, a sacred yellow powder from the Kondammai Temple, is applied to the affected area. But with a few cases of scorpion stings occurring during the festival over the past two years, the Kandakur Primary Health Centre has set up a temporary first-aid camp at the venue.

The local gram panchayat also made arrangements for drinking water and basic facilities for devotees climbing the hillock.

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