The Gangamma Jatara is the great folk festival of Tirupati's village goddess, Sri Tatayyagunta Gangamma. For about a week the town celebrates with colourful veshams – devotees take on a different disguise each day, remembering how the Goddess outwitted a tyrant – ending with the Viswaroopa darshan of the Goddess.
Festival Dates
Dates for the next celebration will be updated soon.
Introduction
The Tirupati Gangamma Jatara is the annual folk festival of Sri Tatayyagunta Gangamma, the gramadevata (village goddess) and protector of Tirupati. It is celebrated for about a week in early Vaishakha, usually in May, and is one of the most colourful folk festivals of Andhra Pradesh. Its best-known feature is the veshams – devotees, especially men, take on a different disguise each day, smeared with coloured pastes and garlanded with neem, as a vow to the Goddess.
Significance and Legend
According to local tradition, Gangamma – revered in Tirupati as the sister of Lord Venkateswara – protected the people from a tyrant chieftain, Palegondulu, who harassed the women of the region. When he hid from her, the Goddess went about the town in a different disguise each day to find him, and on the last day she found him and destroyed him. The townspeople joined her in disguise, and the veshams of the jatara recall that story. The festival is a celebration of the Goddess as the fierce protector of the weak and of women's dignity.
How it is Celebrated
- Chatimpu: the jatara begins with the traditional proclamation in the town.
- The veshams, day by day: Bhairagi (body smeared white, with garlands), Banda (kumkum paste and ribbons), Thoti (charcoal, with neem garlands), Dora (sandalwood paste, with neem and lemon garlands), Matangi (remembering the Goddess consoling the chieftain's wife) and Sunnapu Kundalu (white paste with dots, carrying pots on the head).
- Viswaroopa darshan: on the last day, the Goddess is worshipped in her Viswaroopa (cosmic form) made of clay; a devotee dressed as a perantalu removes the chempa (cheek) of the image, and the sacred clay is shared with devotees.
- Offerings: devotees fulfil their vows with pongali, turmeric, kumkum and saris for the Goddess. Animal offerings, once part of the folk tradition, are now officially restricted at the temple.
Rituals and Puja
- Darshan of Gangamma at Tatayyagunta, with turmeric, kumkum, neem leaves and lamps.
- Taking a vesham as a vow, and visiting the Goddess in that disguise.
- Viswaroopa darshan on the final day.
Foods and Offerings
- Pongali offered to the Goddess in fulfilment of vows.
- Turmeric, kumkum, neem garlands, lemons and saris.
Temples Known for this Festival
The jatara is centred on the Sri Tatayyagunta Gangamma temple in Tirupati.
The Gangamma Jatara is held for about a week in early Vaishakha; the dates are announced by the temple each year and will be added here once announced.