Sullia: The rich Hindu culture speaks of seeing God in all of his creations and in Sullia, one such practices which is still followed is offering ‘naivedhya’ (food offered to Gods) to the fish in river Payaswini as the locals believe that fish are manifestation of God himself.
The ritual of offering food to the fish starts during the full moon day of the month of Shravana and is continues for a period of four and half months, till the annual fair of Sri Channakeshwara temple is over.
The Naivedhya is prepared on the bank of the river after performing stipulated rituals. After prayers, rice, paddy, grated coconut and banana are mixed in a cauldron to form a porridge, which is fed to the fish. It is believed that the fish found in the pond of Thodikana Mallikarjuna Temple reach the spot to consume the naivedhya.
In days to come, representative of Pannebeedu Chavadi will offer the naivedhya. The custom has been followed since time immemorial and it is being followed without any deviation.
