MEDARAM (BHUPALPALLY ): Amid beating of drums, blowing of trumpets and chanting, the tribal deity Sammakka was brought from Chilkalgutta (a nearby hillock where she is believed to have attained martyrdom) onto the pedestal around 8 pm on Thursday, a day before her daughter Saralamma and husband Pagididda Raju were brought onto their respective pedestal. All of them will stay here for two days before being taken back to the forest on February 3.
The ritual of bringing Sammakka to the gaddi started around 3.30 pm with the chief priest along with other priests chanting the mantras. Lakhs of devotees waited on the more than one kilometre route from Chilakalagutta to Medaram, when Sammakka was brought down from the hillock. Devotees welcomed Sammakka in their traditional way by offering animal sacrifice to the Goddess all along the road. The tribal priests went to hillock, offered prayers and brought her down to the temple.
Bhupalpally SP Bhaskaran fired three shots into the air as a mark of inviting the Goddess to Medaram temple. As Sammakka was brought to her Gadde, the devotee rush too witnessed an increase with people offering ‘bangaram’ (jaggery) to Sammakka-Saralamma for fulfilling their wishes. A large number of devotees reached on Thursday to witness the arrival of Sammakka from Chilkalgutta. Traffic snarls were witnessed at many places en route to jatara. The rush is likely to continue on Friday.