AGARTALA, July 24 (TIWN): Governor Tathagata Roy inaugurated the week-long traditional festival of Kharchi in presence of Deputy Speaker Pabitra Kar, on Friday morning at Chaturdash Devata Temple in Khayerpur. The festival will continue till July 30.

This festival is one of the hallmarks of this hilly northeastern state.  People irrespective of caste, creed and religion assemble in the Chaturdash Devata temple every year in the seven–day long festival.

All together as a part of the festival the priest has also sacrificed 101 goats to the deities.

Despite incessant rain hundreds of both tribal and non-tribal Hindu devotees had taken holy bath in downstream of Kharchi ghat as part of the rituals on Shukla Ashtami that symbolize peace, harmony and fraternity irrespective of caste, creed and religion flock.

Large numbers of men in uniform have been deployed in the temple while sufficient security equipment is installed at the entrance to avoid any untoward incident during the festival. The Tripura government made arrangement of special transport from the city for next seven days round the clock.

Along with rituals the devotees were also noticed enjoying the fair organized at the temple premises.

Kharchi is one of the most popular festivals of Tripurites which includes the participation of people transcending caste and community. As part of the rituals the Chantai (Head priest) chants mantras while his assistant sacrifices animals. It is believed that Kharchi is a symbolic establishment of traditional monarchy in Tripura. It is observed for seven days, starting with the holy dip, bathing of head-images of 14 Hindu deities - Hara, Uma, Hari, Maa, Bani, Kumar, Ganesh, Brahma, Prithvi, Ganga, Adbi, Agni, Kamesh and Himadri in river Howrah.

According to history, the genesis of the festival is as follows: Once the mother of King Trilochan (a king of Tripura) went to take bath in river Maharani and noticed a wild buffalo chasing the 14 Gods. Later, the Gods took the Queen's help to kill the beast. Happy over the act, the 14 Gods came to the palace at Udaipur (one of the 51 holy places) and the royal family offered Puja by sacrificing wild buffaloes. The Puja is performed according to Hindu rites with the sacrifice of 108 goats, but the idols of the deities have no bodies - only heads.

The heads were earlier carved out of stone. Later, Maharaja Kalyan Manikya created new idols out of an alloy of eight metals, the Raj Chantai (Head priest) informed. Another special feature of this Puja is that these deities are kept locked in a room throughout the year and it is only during these seven days they are brought out and the devotees can have a glimpse of them.