Ashada Jathara Bonalu Festival at Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Temple at Secunderabad

Ashada Jathara Bonalu Festival is an important annual ritual held at the famous Sri Ujjaini Maha Kali Temple at Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh in the Telugu Month of Ashada. In 2012, Ashada Jathara Bonalu Festival at Sri UjjainiMahakali Temple is on July 8. Rangam festival will be observed on July 9. Bonalu is an important Hindu festival dedicated to Mother Goddess in the Telagana region and is a major event in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Temple is an important sacred place dedicated to Shakti worship in Andhra Pradesh. The deity was installed here in the beginning of 19th century by some devotees from Ujjaini. The devotees were part of an army contingent and when they arrived at Secunderabad, the place was hit by a major cholera outbreak in which thousands of people died.

Some of the soldiers in the army contingent returned to Mahakali Devasthanam at Ujjaini and prayed to the Goddess to save Telegana region from the grip of cholera.

Miraculously, the cholera disappeared from the region and the soldiers in return of the favor installed an idol of Goddess Ujjaini at Secunderabad. The Bonalu festival is observed annually on a Sunday in the Telugu Month of Ashada as a thanksgiving to the Goddess for saving the region from the dreaded disease.

Women in large number participate in the Bonalu Festival. More details about the Bonalu festival and the method of celebration can be found in this post.