There are thousands of centres, religious or secular where weekly, monthly
or annual fairs are held. Every village and town in Anantapur has some
kind of temple or place of worship where religious festivals are held accompanied
by
fairs. Some of them are of local importance, others have a wider significance.
These places attract millions of devotees throughout the year, and the rituals
observed here are traditional, in accordance with the Agamas.
Kotappakonda Temple Fair:
Kotappakonda
in Narasaraopet taluk of Guntur district is a temple of Koteseswara Swamy,
a chief place
of worship. On the Mahashivarathri day, a big fair is
held and lakhs of people participate in it. Sweet meats, clothes, bangles,
toys, bamboo articles, and also goats, cows and other domestic animals are
sold in this fair. Devotees who come here take a vow and get their heads shaved.
Many of them come to the hill from their villages with decorated and lighted
prabhas to redeem their vows. These prabhas number about five hundred at the
fair. Some of them are nearly thirty - five metres high and are expense.
Sambhulingeswara
Kalyanotsavam:
The Kalyanotsavam of Sambhulingeswara is celebrated during
Mahasivaratri for five days. On the first day, Prabhas are taken out in procession.
Kalyanam, village procession, Rathotsavam Ponnaseva, Vasantotsavam and Pavalimpuseva
are performed on the following days. Cash, silver and gold ornaments, coconuts,
fruits and flowers are offered to the Lord. Devotees also offer cows and calves,
tying - them to the Dhwajasthambha in fulfillment of their vows. It is believed
that childless women who perform puja for five days, wearing wet clothes, would
be blessed with children. Fasting and Jagaranam are also observed. A large
five-day fair including a cattle fair is held near the temple.
Durgamma
Festival:
This festival is celebrated for four days in the month of Bhadrapada. On the
first day, the water for worship is brought from a near by river Majira. On
the second day, a buffalo intended for sacrifice is taken to the river. After
worshipping the water-goddess, the buffalo is washed there. It is then decorated
and brought to the temple in a procession to the accompaniment of music. The
next day the buffalo is sacrificed and after that devotees sacrifice innumerable
jowls, goats, rams and buffaloes. In the evening, the ground in-front of the
temple is cleaned and a heap of cooked rice and mutton is kept as offering
to the deity. An unbaked earthen pot is buried up to its neck and a winnow
is placed over it. A woman sits on the winnow and apparently possessed predicts
future events. A man representing poturaju, the brother of Durgamma, is smeared
with turmeric and vermilion and decorated round his head, neck and waist with
margosa leaves. He goes round the temple and kills a sacrificial lamb by biting
its throat. On the last day, devotees go round the temple with bomalu (puppets).
Carts and bullocks decorated with flowers and coloured sarees are taken round
the temple. Prasadam is distributed. A fair is held here during the festival.