Inavolu Jatara begins

Deputy CM K Srihari offers prayers to Mallikarjuna Swamy

Warangal: The Telangana government has been spending huge amount of funds on the renovation of historic temples in the State, said Deputy Chief Minister K Srihari.

The Deputy CM visited Inavolu Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple at Inavolu in the district on Sunday along with his family members, MLAs D Vinay Bhasker, Aroori Ramesh and Errabelly Dayakar Rao and offered special prayers marking ‘Bhogi’ festival. Speaking to presspersons on the occasion, he said efforts were being made to ensure better facilities at all the famous temples for the convenience of the devotees. Several crores of rupees were spent on developing Inavolu temple, where CCTV cameras were installed for effective security.

The festivities at Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple have begun on Saturday with ‘dwajarohanam’ ceremony followed by Vigneshwara pooja and other rituals. On Sunday, Rudrabhishekam and other rituals were performed in view of Bhogi by the temple chief priest N Sivarajaiah and others. Inavolu Mallikarjuna Swamy Jatara, one of the biggest religious fairs in Telangana, attracts devotees in large numbers from different parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The jatara would continue till Ugadi in March.

Lord Siva is the presiding deity at the temple in the incarnation of Mallikarjuna Swamy with consorts Golla Kethamma and Balija Medalamma. The celestial wedding of the presiding deity and his consorts is the highlight of the jatara. Yadava, Golla, Kuruma and Balija communities patronise the temple built by Kakatiya Minister Ayyanna Devudu. The devotees use ‘Bandari’ (turmeric) as the main offering to the deity. Majority of the devotees offer ‘Sankranti Bonam’, newly-harvested rice cooked with milk and jaggery in earthen pots, to the deity. Animal sacrifices were also a common feature here. Most of the devotees erect temporary tents around the temple or stay on the temple premises camping for one or two days as a custom before offerings their prayers.

GWMC deployed teams of sanitation workers and auto trolleys to ensure cleanliness at the temple surroundings along water tanks for supplying drinking water for the devotees, while TSRTC is running special buses. It was expected that more than five lakh devotees would visit Inavolu till Ugadi festival.

KUDA Chairman M Yadava Reddy, State Handicapped Development Corporation Chairman K Vasudeva Reddy, Agros Chairman L Kishan Rao, TRS state general secretary T Ravinder Rao, MPP M Ravinder Rao and others also visited the temple on Sunday.