Inavolu Mallanna Jathara is the annual festival held at Inavolu
Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple in Telangana. The fair and festival at this ancient Shiva
temple lasts for 3 months. In 2024, the Inavolu Mallanna Jathara begins on
January 14 and concludes on April 27. The most important dates are January 14
and January 15, 2024.
The Jathara mainly celebrates the celestial wedding of the
presiding deity Mallikarjuna Swamy with his consorts Golla Kethamma and Balija
Medalamma.
Carrying Bonam on the first day of the festival is
considered highly meritorious. People fulfill numerous vows during the period.
Bandari (turmeric) is the main offering to the deity.
Devotees also offer earthen pots with newly harvested rice cooked with milk and
jaggery.
Thousands of people from villages across the region and far
off places participate in the annual jatara.
During the festival several men and women could be seen
dancing in trance chanting weird incantations as if a deity has possessed them.
Men dress up as Potharaju – men in knickers and bare chest whipping and dancing
rhythmically to the percussion instruments. Women follow Potharaju carrying Bonams
– decorated mud pots with offering to the deity.
A unique feature of Inavolu Mallanna Jathara is that
devotees come and raise a temporary shelter in and around the temple. They draw
peculiar patterns with rangoli or colors and this is known as patnam. They place
their offering – rice cooked with fresh paddy harvested in the season, jaggery
and milk – on the patnam.
Inavolu, a sleepy village, turns into a small town during
the Jathara – scores of shops selling anything and everything sprung up during
the period.