ADILABAD: For Adivasi communities of the erstwhile Adilabad district, Pushya Masam is a period where everyday life, shaped by ritual, restraint and collective memory. Observed according to customs passed down through generations, the month is linked to jataras, deekshas and prayers to ancestral deities.
This year, the Jangu Bhai jatara began on December 22, opening a cycle of observances that continue through the month. During this period, devotees abstain from liquor and other habits, undertake vows of discipline and travel to shrines barefoot or by bullock cart without footwear. Many take a 30-day deeksha, invoking the chant “Jai Lingu, Jai Jangu”.
Members of Gond, Kolam, Thoti, Pardhan and other Adivasi communities take part, travelling from villages across Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Those unable to make the journey mark the occasion within their own settlements through community prayers and gatherings.
Officials release poster
The Pushya Masam jatara cycle traditionally begins at Jangu Bhai and concludes with the Nagoba jatara at Keslapur in Indervelli mandal. Central to the observance is theJangu Bhai cave, located in the Sahyadri hill range amid forest land under Kota Parandholi gram panchayat in Kerameri mandal, close to the Telangana–Maharashtra border. Over the 30-day period, large numbers of devotees visit the site to offer prayers.
On Saturday, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor project officer Yuvraj Marmat, along with members of the Jangu Bhai Devasthanam committee, released posters for the jatara. According to the schedule, the lighting of the lamp under the deepa rupam programme will be held on December 22, followed by the Mahapuja on December 30.