Other Temple Festivals
Nizamabad, the district headquarters of Nizamabad is another historical
place. Bada Rama Mandir, Dalta Mandir temples of Hanuman, Raghunathaswami,
Nilakantheswaraswami and Venkateswara are the places of worship.
In Bada Rama Mandir, Sri Rama Navami festival is celebrated from ten
days and Dalta jayanti is celebrated in Dalta Mandir for nine days in
the month of Margasera. Bhajans, Harikathas and free feeding are
the order of the day. The Nilkantheswara temple is located on
a picturesque hillock and is enclosed by a high wall. The significance
of the temple is that the rays of the rising sun fall directly on Shiva
lingam. Nilakantheswara festival is celebrated for two days during Ratha
Saptami in the month of Magha and more than thirty thousand devotees
congregate. The Jhanda festival or Venkateswara swami mela is
celebrated for fifteen days in the month of Bhadrapada. A flag
is installed in a particular place and pilgrims throng to see it.
It is carried to Tirupati far away in Chittor district and brought back
every year. Some devotees redeem their vow here, if they are unable
to go Tirupati. Offerings are made in the form of cash as well as in
kind.
Bejjanki in the Karimmagar taluk of Karimmagar district
has the Lakshminarasimha Swami temple, on a near by hillock. The
annual celebrations of Lakshminarasimha Swami and the Andal Kalyanam
and Ratholsavam are held here for twelve days in the month of Chaitra
according to the agama Sastra. Bandlaseva is the worship
of carts. The carts are washed and cleaned and all the parts are painted
red and white. Festoons of green mango leaves and coloured
paper are tied to them. Bullocks are also washed and decorated
with various colour designs. The carts are driven as a part of
a competition. The loud music of drums and coaxing and goading
of the bullocks into a faster pace are infectious and exciting.
At three in the morning the cart festival is celebrated. Devotees
fulfill their vows by lighting the path with torches, while the idol
for procession is brought down from hill top to be placed on the cart.
About twenty - five thousand devotees congregate during this festival
and a fair is held in an area of over thirteen acres.
Uravakonda, the taluk headquarters in Anantapur district
has Siddheswara, Malleswara Subbaraya and Pundurangaswami temples.
The Siddheswara temple is located within the spacious high-walled compound
of Gavimutt which was established by Karibasavaswami, the disciple of
Vairagya, Chennabasavaswami, a great Saiva saint preaching the Basava
cult. These saints are known for their austere life and service
to humanity. The samadhi of Karibasavaswami which is near the
yogamantapa has been a place of worship for the last two centuries.
The chariot festival is celebrated for the eight days in the month of
phalguna. Forty to fifty thousand devotees from different states
attend this festival. A fair is held during these eight days in
the open grounds in front of the temple. Feeding of poor is also
organised.
Alampuram, the taluk headquarters in Mahboob Nagar
district, it is on the bank of the river Tungabhadra and it is a sacred
place. Alampuram is reputed for 'Koti lingas'. The place
is known as Brahmeswaram. The Brahmeswaram is the only place where
an image of Brahma with four head is worshipped. This is also
called Parasurama Kshetram as sage Parasurama is said to have lived
here with his parents - Jamadagmi and Renuka. It is here that
dutiful Parasurama carried out the orders of his father and cut off
his mother's head. The head of Renuka is worshipped as Ellamma throughout
Andhra and her trunk that remained there is worshipped as Bhudevi or
mother of earth. The beautifully sculptured stone torso of Renuka,
is housed in a mantapa near Bala Brahmeswara. Married couples
who have no children offer butter to the trunk idol and take it back
as sacred prasadam. There are nine Brahmeswara temples built in
the northern style inside the fort area of Alampuram. They are
Balabrahma, Kumarabrahma, Arkabrahma, Virabrahma, Viswabrahma, Tarakabrhma,
Garuda brahma, Swargabrahma and Padmabrahma temples. The Balabrahma
Shivalingam is said to be 'Swayambhu' self born. All the water
that is poured on Balabrahmeswaralingam, during Abhisheka, sinks just
round the lingam without a drop flowing outside. Other temples
venerate Dumthi, Ganapathi, Daltatroya, Narasimhaswami, Anjaneyaswami,
Suryanarayama-venkateswara, and Krishna.
