Trek to Srisailam Temple: A gruelling journey and a tale of unwavering devotion Premium

Pilgrims trekking to Srisailam Temple for Ugadi Brahmotsavams face challenges but show unwavering devotion.

Standing on his 8 ft. stilts A. Basavaraj towered over his fellow pilgrims as they made their way along a meandering road in Nandikotkur in Nandyal district towards their destination: the Srisailam Temple. He and his group began their journey from Karnataka’s Bellary several days ago and it would be a few more days and an gruelling trek through the dense Nallamala forest before they reached their destination.

“The stilt’s height increases every year; sometimes, people uses 10 ft. sticks as stilts,” said Basavaraj, who is in his middle ages and has been making this pilgrimage for many years now. In the past, this offered protection from snakes while trekking through the forest; now, it has become a practice for some, he adds.

Basavaraj and his group are part of over two lakh pilgrims, mostly from Karnataka and Maharashtra, who trek hundreds of kilometres to each Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple on the occasion of the five-day Ugadi Brahmotsavams. And, over the years, they have developed their own culture and traditions. This year the festival was celebrated on March 30.

While some walk on stilts such as those of Basavaraj, some walk barefoot all the way. Some devotees carry large sacks of offerings on their shoulders without putting them down for kilometres together, even on stony paths and under a blistering sun.

The pilgrims, in groups of different sizes and comprising devotees of different ages, enter Nallamala from the Atmakur side in Nandyal district and from Sunnipenta towards Telangana. Walking day and night, they chant Om Namasivaiah and play bhajans and traditional instruments like `Chidatalu’ (clackers) throughout their journey.

Unlike Mahasivaratri Brahmotsavams, where devotees visit the temple on one particular day of the nine-day festivities, pilgrims reach the hill shrine 4-5 days in advance of the Ugadi Brahmotsavams and stay there until the festival is over. A large number of the devotees are Lingayaats.

“We treat Goddess Bhramaramba as our ‘adapaduchu’ (daughter) and offer the yield from our fields as ‘vadi biyyam’ (a traditional ceremony wherein a mother blesses her married daughter with rice, turmeric, and coconut and wishes her prosperity),’’ says a 43-year-old Veerabhadra, a farmer from Bellary.