845658778Warangal_Medaram_Main, Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Telangana
845658778Warangal_Medaram_Main, Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Telangana

Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Telangana

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Deity:Sammakka-Saralamma
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Major festivals
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District::Jayashankar Bhupalpally
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Sammakka Saralamma Jatara or Medaram Jatara is a festival of honouring the goddesses celebrated in the state of Telangana, India. This Jatara is known for witnessing one of the largest people gatherings in the world. People offer Bangarm (jaggery) :The Jatara begins at Medaram in Tadvai mandal in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. The rituals related to the Goddesses are entirely conducted by Koya tribe priests, in accordance with Koya customs and traditions.

Medaram is a remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dandakaranya, the largest surviving forest belt in the Deccan.

Jatara is celebrated during the time the goddesses of the tribals are believed to visit them. It is believed that after Kumbha Mela, the Medaram jatara attracts the largest number of devotees in the country.it is very Asia’s largest tribal festival which is celebrated in telangana

Architecture

Legend / Local stories

The Sammakka-Saralamma jatara, a biennial tribal festival, marks the sacrifice by Sammakka and Saralamma — a mother-daughter duo – against the powerful Kakatiya rulers’ unjust tax law. The four-day tribal festival begins at Medaram in Jayashankar Bhupalapalli district and attracts millions of people. This year, the jatara is celebrated from January 31 to February 3.

According to a tribal legend, about seven centuries ago, the Koya tribals found a little girl playing with tigers while passing through the Dandakaranya forest. The tribal chief adopted her and named her Sammakka.

She married Pagididda Raju, headman of a neighbouring village, and begot three children –Jampanna, Nagulamma and Saaralamma. The Koyas were under the tutelage of the Kakatiyas, who ruled Central India from Warangal City between 1000 AD and 1380 AD.

During a severe drought that lasted years, the mighty Godavari dried up and the Koyas fell  on hard times. Though the Kakatiya rulers’ insisted on them paying the tax, it was beyond the means of the Koyas. Kakatiya Emperor Pratapa Rudra sent forces to teach the Koyas a lesson. This was resisted by the Koyas. In the bitter war, most of the Koya chieftains lost.

Samakka resolved to continue the fight to avenge the dead and was wounded. Samakka told her people that as long as they remembered her, she would protect them. Then, she cursed the Kakatiya dynasty and disappeared into the forest.

Legends say that the tribals searched for their queen and found a red ochre box, containing her bangles, and the pug-mark of a tigress. Since then, the Koyas, Waddaras and other tribes and non-tribals have been holding feasts in memory of Sammakka and Saralamma.

Sammakka-Saralamma jatara is held in over 100 tribal locations in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

There are many legends about the miraculous powers of Sammakka. According to a tribal story, about 6-7 centuries ago, that is in the 13th century, some tribal leaders who went for a hunting found a new born girl (Sammakka) emitting enormous light playing amidst tigers. She was taken to their habitation, and the head of the tribe adopted her and brought up as a chief. She later became the saviour of the tribals of the region. She was married to Pagididda Raju, a feudatory tribal chief of Kakatiyas (who ruled the country of Telugus from Warangal City between 1000 AD and 1380 AD). She was blessed with 2 daughters and one son namely Sarakka, Nagulamma and Jampanna respectively. Jampanna died in this attack and fell bleeding into a vaagu (stream) and later the whole sampangi vaagu has turned red due to which it was later on called JAMPANNA VAAGU near the place where the present mela is taking place.

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How to Reach:

Hyderabad to Medaram Jatara distance is about 180 KM. From Warangal, it is 90 KM journey.

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