Komuravelli Mallanna Jatara: a season of Sundays for a folk Shiva
A god's portrait drawn in coloured powder while priests sing a story never written down
The Mallanna jatara at Komuravelli, in Siddipet district of Telangana about 85 km from Hyderabad, is not one day but a season: from the first Sunday after Makar Sankranti to Agni Gundalu, the walk over embers on the night of the Sunday before Ugadi. The crowds come on Sundays, when Oggu priests draw the patnam, a coloured floor pattern, before Mallanna, a folk form of Shiva, and sing his story. This season: 17 January – 5 April 2027 (expected).
Countdown17 January – 5 April 2027
When17 January – 5 April 2027
The temple and the Telangana endowments department announce the season and the Kalyanam (divine wedding) date one to two months ahead.
The legend
Songs of the Kuruma community tell that Shiva brought forth two sons from his own sweat: Birappa from the first drop and Mallanna from the second.
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Mallanna seeks the hand of Medalamma and wins her by meeting her brothers' conditions. His other consort is Golla Kethamma.
Mallanna is worshipped as a form of Shiva. His home is a cave on the hill above Komuravelli village, where he stands with both his consorts.
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His story lives in song rather than in a book: the Oggu Katha, sung by bards to drum and the jaggu, a small hand drum.
So every Sunday from Sankranti to Ugadi the Oggu priests draw the patnam, a coloured floor pattern, before Mallanna and sing his story.
Meaning
Golla and Kuruma
The Oggu Katha is the clan lore of Telangana's Golla and Kuruma herding communities: Mallanna and Birappa are their family gods.
Maharashtra
Pilgrims from Maharashtra know Mallanna as their own Khandoba, also a folk form of Shiva.
Customs
Patnam
Oggu priests in yellow tunics draw the coloured patnam in the temple and on its veranda, set a bonam in it and sing. In a sense, it is said, this is the god's wedding.
Oggu Katha
A troupe of four to six: a narrator and his partner, a big drum, brass cymbals, a tambourine. The two narrators slip into different characters as they sing.
Silver moustaches
In fulfilment of vows Mallanna is offered a bonam, a pot of rice, as well as silver moustaches and eyes.
Pedda Patnam
Towards the end of the season hundreds of Oggu priests draw one vast pattern together, invoke the god at its centre and play their jaggu drums as one.
Agni Gundalu
Before Ugadi Veerashaiva priests burn a stack of wood down to embers overnight, and at dawn carry the god's festival images across them three times. Hundreds follow.
Words of the festival
ఒగ్గు కథ
Oggu Katha
a sung tale of Mallanna and other gods, with dance and drama
పట్నం
patnam
a coloured floor pattern before the god, drawn by the Oggu priests
జగ్గు
jaggu
a small double-headed damaru drum, said to give the Oggu its name
అగ్నిగుండాలు
Agni Gundalu
"fire pits": the walk over embers at the season's end
True or myth
The Mallanna jatara lasts a single day.
❌ Myth. It is a season, from the first Sunday after Sankranti to the fire rite before Ugadi, with worship every Sunday. In 2025 it ran twelve weeks.
Mallanna is offered silver moustaches in fulfilment of vows.
✅ True. Along with the bonam he is given silver moustaches and eyes.
In Agni Gundalu the god's own images are carried across the embers.
✅ True. At dawn priests cross the embers three times with Mallanna's festival images, and devotees follow.
Who Mallanna is
Mallanna, also called Mallikarjuna Swamy, is worshipped as a form of Shiva. His temple is a cave on a hill above Komuravelli village, where he stands with his two consorts, Golla Kethamma and Medalamma (identified with Bhramarambika, Shiva's consort). Pilgrims from Maharashtra know him as their own Khandoba.
His story has no written text. It lives in the Oggu Katha, a sung tale with dance and drama, the clan lore of Telangana's Golla and Kuruma herding communities, for whom Mallanna and his brother Birappa are family gods. In one of its episodes Mallanna seeks the hand of Medalamma and wins her by meeting the conditions set by her brothers. A troupe is four to six people: a narrator and his partner, who slip between characters as they sing, a big drum, brass cymbals and a tambourine.
How the season runs
The dates follow the solar and lunar calendars, so the season changes length every year, usually ten to twelve weeks of Sundays.
Kalyanam before the season
The god's wedding, Mallikarjuna Swamy Kalyanam, is held before the jatara opens. The temple and the Telangana endowments department announce its date and the season one to two months ahead.
Every Sunday
From the first Sunday after Sankranti, Oggu priests in yellow tunics draw the patnam in the temple and on its veranda, set a bonam (a pot of rice) in it and sing. Devotees fulfil vows with a bonam or with silver moustaches and eyes for the god.
Maha Shivaratri and Pedda Patnam
On Maha Shivaratri, one of the big days of the season, hundreds of Oggu priests draw one vast pattern together, the Pedda Patnam, invoke the god at its centre and play their jaggu drums (small double-headed drums) as one.
Agni Gundalu
The season closes the night from the Sunday before Ugadi into Monday. Veerashaiva priests burn a stack of wood down to embers and at dawn carry Mallanna's festival images across them three times; hundreds of devotees follow. Main day: 4 April 2027 (expected).
Getting there from Hyderabad
Komuravelli is near Siddipet, off the Rajiv Rahadari (State Highway 1), about 85 km from Hyderabad, so it works as a day trip from the city. Komuravelli now has its own railway station on the new Manoharabad–Kothapalli line, built to serve pilgrims to the temple; the DEMU trains between Secunderabad and Siddipet stop there. During the season the state transport corporation (RTC) and the district are part of the jatara arrangements; for the city itself see how to get to Hyderabad. The Konda Pochamma temple nearby is usually visited on the same trip.
Which day to choose
Any Sunday of the season shows the patnam and the Oggu singing; Shivaratri and Agni Gundalu draw the biggest crowds. In the evenings the state culture department has arranged folk performances, including Oggu Katha, at the fair. For a Telangana festival in the city itself, see Bonalu, Hyderabad's festival of the goddess.
FAQ
When is the Komuravelli Mallanna jatara?
It is a season from the first Sunday after Makar Sankranti to Agni Gundalu on the Sunday before Ugadi: 17 January – 5 April 2027 (expected). The busiest days are Sundays.
What is the story of Komuravelli Mallanna?
Mallanna is a folk form of Shiva whose story is sung, never written, in the Oggu Katha of the Golla and Kuruma herding communities. In one episode he wins Medalamma by meeting her brothers' conditions.
What were the names of Komuravelli Mallanna's wives?
Golla Kethamma and Medalamma; Medalamma is identified with Bhramarambika, Shiva's consort. Both stand with him in the cave temple.
Which district is Komuravelli in?
Siddipet district, Telangana, about 85 km from Hyderabad.
What is Agni Gundalu?
The fire pits that close the season: priests burn wood to embers overnight before Ugadi and at dawn carry Mallanna's images across them three times, followed by devotees.
Is there a train to Komuravelli?
Yes. Komuravelli station on the Manoharabad–Kothapalli line was built to serve the temple, and the DEMU trains between Secunderabad and Siddipet stop there.
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