Standing on his 8 ft. stilts A. Basavaraj towered over his fellow pilgrims as they made their way along a meandering road in Nandikotkur in Nandyal district towards their destination: the Srisailam Temple. He and his group began their journey from Karnataka’s Bellary several days ago and it would be a few more days and an gruelling trek through the dense Nallamala forest before they reached their destination.
“The stilt’s height increases every year; sometimes, people uses 10 ft. sticks as stilts,” said Basavaraj, who is in his middle ages and has been making this pilgrimage for many years now. In the past, this offered protection from snakes while trekking through the forest; now, it has become a practice for some, he adds.
Basavaraj and his group are part of over two lakh pilgrims, mostly from Karnataka and Maharashtra, who trek hundreds of kilometres to each Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple on the occasion of the five-day Ugadi Brahmotsavams. And, over the years, they have developed their own culture and traditions. This year the festival was celebrated on March 30.
While some walk on stilts such as those of Basavaraj, some walk barefoot all the way. Some devotees carry large sacks of offerings on their shoulders without putting them down for kilometres together, even on stony paths and under a blistering sun.
The pilgrims, in groups of different sizes and comprising devotees of different ages, enter Nallamala from the Atmakur side in Nandyal district and from Sunnipenta towards Telangana. Walking day and night, they chant Om Namasivaiah and play bhajans and traditional instruments like `Chidatalu’ (clackers) throughout their journey.
Unlike Mahasivaratri Brahmotsavams, where devotees visit the temple on one particular day of the nine-day festivities, pilgrims reach the hill shrine 4-5 days in advance of the Ugadi Brahmotsavams and stay there until the festival is over. A large number of the devotees are Lingayaats.
“We treat Goddess Bhramaramba as our ‘adapaduchu’ (daughter) and offer the yield from our fields as ‘vadi biyyam’ (a traditional ceremony wherein a mother blesses her married daughter with rice, turmeric, and coconut and wishes her prosperity),’’ says a 43-year-old Veerabhadra, a farmer from Bellary.
“A vehicle, like a pick-up lorry, accompanies us throughout the journey, carrying the cooking utensils and other essentials. We walk and rest at temples or on the roadside at night. Only while sleeping do we put the offering down. We take turns to carry it while on the move,” he added. The vadi biyyam comprises rice, bellu (raw toor dal), jaggery, dried coconut and bangles, he said.
Some even bring gunny bags filled with rice or raw toor dal weighing up to 25 kg, which they carry by themselves.
Nija Guna, a farmhand from Mantralayam near Karnataka border, said he has been visiting Srisailam every year for almost a decade. “We will continue as long as we are strong enough to do so. This tradition will be carried forward by the younger generations of our family.”
The journey is not easy but the devotees have no complaint. “Some people from far-off places in our State walk for almost 500 km. Those who walk barefoot suffer bruises on their legs and their toes bleed, but there is no stopping,’’ he said.
As the first batch of devotees start entering the forest, a charged atmosphere can be witnessed. “The pilgrimages reflects their devotion. Old, young, men and women travel for hundreds of kilometres and some don’t even wear slippers,’’
M.V. Shivakumar Reddy, convenor of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH-Nandyal) and also the founder of ‘Mana Ooru–Mana Gudi–Mana Bhadyatha’, and his team of volunteers organised a foot-massage camp and a medical camp at Nandikotkur for five days to give some relief to the travelling devotees. “It was an unbelievable experience for us. The devout were carrying the idols of the deities in palanquins. They were singing songs, chanting Om Namasivaiah,’’ he said.
Their only objective is to reach Srisailam and camp there till the Ugadi, present their offerings and return. “They won’t speak or stop unnecessarily. They will respond only if you call them ‘Mallanna’,’’ Shivakumar Reddy added.
Shivakumar Reddy said they have organised the camp to offer their respects and provide them some succour. Among the volunteers who participated in the medical camp organised by INTACH-Nandyal was Dr. Abdul Khayum, a young homeopathic doctor from Kurnool district. “The experience was wonderful,’’ he said. The 24-year-old was on ‘Roza’ (fasting from morning to evening) for Ramzan, but still offered his services.
“Professionally, it was for the first time that I had seen so many people together. We attended to nearly 500 people in our medical camp,’’ he said.
Many devotees also bring their bulls from their villages to Srisailam. On their return, they take the bulls in vehicles. They also carry the ‘pratima’ (an image, figure or an effigy) of Nandi (bull) and Lord Siva during their journey.
Some even bring their horses and use them to carry the luggage. “On the final day, the same horses will be used to perform stunts and dances in the temple town. After that, we will take back our horses,’’ said another devotee who was carrying a horse through the forest.
According to locals and officials of Srisailam temple, the number of devotees trekking their way to the temple for Ugadi Mahotsavams never saw a decline.
“I see groups of devotees walking up our street. They ask for water sometimes. They don’t speak much. It might be the language barrier but I believe they just prefer not to waste their energy on unnecessary matters,’’ said K. Ravindra, a resident of Ulchala on the outskirts of Kurnool city.
The devotees usually cook their food on roadsides, but some philanthropists have been providing them with food, water, fruits, and butter milk, ‘jonna rotte’ (a roti kind of delicacy made with sorghum flour) over the past few years. Even medical camps are being run by some. A jaggery merchant from Maharashtra has been providing food to the devotees in the middle of the forest route for a few years now.
The temple management and district administration, too, made arrangements for the devotees enroute to Nallamala forests and in the temple town. Temple Executive Officer M. Srinivasa Rao made arrangements for drinking water and temporary shelters at some identified places inside the forest and also at Hatakeswaram, Kailasa Dwaram and other places in the temple town.
Though there is a danger of wild animal attack during the trek through the forest, this hasn’t deterred the devotees. A Forest official, who sought anonymity, said the forest route had been cleared of bushes ahead of the pilgrims trek.
Before leaving the temple town, the euphoria of the devotees reaches its peak. They dance to the tunes of drum beats and pierce their tongue, cheeks, hands and legs with sharp iron rods. They also walk on ‘Gundam’ (a spread of burning coal) chanting Om Namasivaiah.
Devotees purchase `Nandi kollu,’ sacred threads and other items from Srisailam and take them home and use them till the next year, when they will discard them in waterbodies and buy new ones.
Soon after Ugadi, the devotees gradually start their journey back home in vehicles along with their horses and bulls. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) run buses for the return journey of the devotees from Srisailam to various parts of that state.
Temple officials said the nine-day Mahasivaratri Brahmotsavams witnesses huge rush of devotees from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana while it is Karnataka and Maharashtra devotees who visit the temple in large numbers during the five-day Ugadi Mahotsavams.
Published – April 05, 2025 09:02 am IST