There are thousands of centres, religious or secular where weekly, monthly or annual fairs are held. Every village and town in Andhra has some kind of temple or place of worship where religious festivals are held accompanied by fairs. Some of them are of local importance, others have a wider significance. Amaravati Srisailam, Tripurantakam, Kaleswaram, Daksharamam, Kalahasti vemulavada and Inavole are the most important Saiva Kshetras and Srikurmam, Simhachalam, Nellore, Tirupati, Ahobilam, Srikakulam yadagiri, Bhadrachalam and Mamgalagiri are the most important Vaishnava Kshetras. Warangal, Mandapaka, Alampuram, Secundrabad, Bejawada, Sulurpeta and Donakonda are important Sakti Kshetras.

These places attract millions of devotees throughout the year, and the rituals observed here are traditional, in accordance with the Agamas.

Kotappakonda Temple Fair

Kotappakonda in Narasaraopet taluk of Guntur district is a temple of Koteseswara Swamy, a chief place of worship. On the Mahashivarathri day, a big fair is held and lakhs of people participate in it. Sweet meats, clothes, bangles, toys, bamboo articles, and also goats, cows and other domestic animals are sold in this fair. Devotees who come here take a vow get their heads shaved. Many of them come to the hill from their villages with decorated and lighted prabhas to redeem their vows. These prabhas number about five hundred at the fair. Some of them are nearly thirty - five metres high and are expense.

Maridamma Festival & Fair

Maridamma temple is located in Peddapuram taluk in East Godavari district. Maridamma festival is celebrated for thirty-one days from the Amavasya in the month of Jyeshtha to the Amavasya in the month of Ashadha. Thousands congregate with dances like kolatoms and display physical feats and skills with sticks. They also revel in music, dance drumming, garaga dances, processions and other communal activities. A wide variety of house hold articles are sold in the fair held during the festival. Cycle races, cattle shows, parrot circuses and agricultural exhibitions are also held here. 'Kumbham' is carried in decorated vessels, kept in open carts. Sometimes men and women dressed to resemble those personages stand on the carts. These carts are taken in procession to the temple to the accompaniment of music and dance and offered to the God, then food is distributed as 'prasadam'.

Sambhulingeswara Kalyanotsavam

The Kalyanotsavam of Sambhulingeswara is celebrated during Mahasivaratri for five days. On the first day, Prabhas are taken out in procession. Kalyanam, village procession, Rathotsavam Ponnaseva, Vasantotsavam and Pavalimpuseva are performed on the following days. Cash, silver and gold ornaments, coconuts, fruits and flowers are offered to the Lord. Devotees also offer cows and calves, tying - them to the Dhwajasthambha in fulfillment of their vows. It is believed that childless women who perform puja for five days, wearing wet clothes, would be blessed with children. Fasting and Jagaranam are also observed. A large five-day fair including a cattle fair is held near the temple.

Yellaramma Jatara

Yellaramma temple is situated in Madapaka in Tanuku Taluk of West Godavari district. Yellaramma Jatara is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of chaitra. Yellaramma is companion of Kakatamma, the famous goddess of Kaktiya monarch. She has four hands, holding a damaruka and a sword in the two right hands and a trident and a drinking vessel in the two left hands. Below the feet of the deity is the image of an animal identified as a fox by some and a bandicoot by others. Goddess yellamma (Yellaramma) is worshipped all over Andhra. The garaga procession of this place is very famous and a fair is also organised.

Other temples in the Madapaka like Someswaraswami, Kesavaswami and Srirama Ganapati also celebrate Kalyanotsavams. Someswaraswami Kalyanotswavam is celebrated for five days in the month of Magha. Kesavaswami Kalyanotsavam is celebrated for seven days in the month of phalguna.

Jaladurga Kalyanotsavam

Kolletikola in Kaikalur taluk of Krishna district is a place of historical significance. There was a temple dedicated to Jaladurga in Kolletikola. The festival of this deity is celebrated for sixteen days from the first day of the month of phalguna. The tenth, eleventh and twelfth are important festive days. On the eleventh day the wedding of Jaladurga and Gokarmeswara swami is celebrated. About ten thousands fowls, five hundred goats, and a thousand sheep are sacrificed to the deity. The sacrifices are conducted behind the fort, far away from the temple. Coconuts, plantains, saffron and kumkum are also offered to the deity. About one lakh persons from neighbouring districts congregate during the festival. A fair is held in front of the temple.

Marriage of Bhadrakali and Virabhadra

Tegada in Nagur, independent sub-taluk of Khannan district, has Bhadrakali and Virabhadraswami temple as a place of worship. The marriage of Bhadrakali and Virabhadra is celebrated for two days on the 13^th and 14^th days of the dark fortnight in the month of Magha. On the morning of Trayodasi Lord Virabhadraswami is taken to the river Godavari, which is about three kilometers from this place to the accompaniment of music and Abhishekam is performed with the holy waters and the idol is brought back to the temple. Then 'sunku' is measured before the Lord. Sunku is explained as follows.

Some rice is measured before the image of the Lord with a new earthen pitcher and poured into a new pot, then it is covered with an earthen plate and is wrapped in a new cloth. The seal of the Lord is affixed on the knot of the cloth and the pot is kept to the left of the pedestal of the image. Before the procession of the Lord starts in the night, the pot is opened and the same person measures that rice again with the same pitcher, more rice is found, than what was measured into the pot in the morning. If it is found that the quantity of the rice in the pot has increased, the festival is celebrated considering it as a good omen. There is a procession throughout the night. During the procession some devotees pierce their tongues or cheeks with marasalu, coconuts, jaggery, fruits and pumpkins are offered. Some devotees bathe in Godavari and observe fasting and jagaranam. Some devotees do fire- walking also.

Durgamma Festival

This festival is celebrated for four days in the month of Bhadrapada. On the first day, the water for worship is brought from a near by river Majira. On the second day, a buffalo intended for sacrifice is taken to the river. After worshipping the water-goddess, the buffalo is washed there. It is then decorated and brought to the temple in a procession to the accompaniment of music. The next day the buffalo is sacrificed and after that devotees sacrifice innumerable jowls, goats, rams and buffaloes. In the evening, the ground in-front of the temple is cleaned and a heap of cooked rice and mutton is kept as offering to the deity. An unbaked earthen pot is buried up to its neck and a winnow is placed over it. A woman sits on the winnow and apparently possessed predicts future events. A man representing poturaju, the brother of Durgamma, is smeared with turmeric and vermilion and decorated round his head, neck and waist with margosa leaves. He goes round the temple and kills a sacrificial lamb by biting its throat. On the last day, devotees go round the temple with bomalu (puppets). Carts and bullocks decorated with flowers and coloured sarees are taken round the temple. Prasadam is distributed. A fair is held here during the festival.

Other Temple Festivals

Nizamabad, the district headquarters of Nizamabad is another historical place. Bada Rama Mandir, Dalta Mandir temples of Hanuman, Raghunathaswami, Nilakantheswaraswami and Venkateswara are the places of worship. In Bada Rama Mandir, Sri Rama Navami festival is celebrated from ten days and Dalta jayanti is celebrated in Dalta Mandir for nine days in the month of Margasera. Bhajans, Harikathas and free feeding are the order of the day. The Nilkantheswara temple is located on a picturesque hillock and is enclosed by a high wall. The significance of the temple is that the rays of the rising sun fall directly on Shiva lingam. Nilakantheswara festival is celebrated for two days during Ratha Saptami in the month of Magha and more than thirty thousand devotees congregate. The Jhanda festival or Venkateswara swami mela is celebrated for fifteen days in the month of Bhadrapada. A flag is installed in a particular place and pilgrims throng to see it. It is carried to Tirupati far away in Chittor district and brought back every year. Some devotees redeem their vow here, if they are unable to go Tirupati. Offerings are made in the form of cash as well as in kind.

Bejjanki in the Karimmagar taluk of Karimmagar district has the Lakshminarasimha Swami temple, on a near by hillock. The annual celebrations of Lakshminarasimha Swami and the Andal Kalyanam and Ratholsavam are held here for twelve days in the month of Chaitra according to the agama Sastra. Bandlaseva is the worship of carts. The carts are washed and cleaned and all the parts are painted red and white. Festoons of green mango leaves and coloured paper are tied to them. Bullocks are also washed and decorated with various colour designs. The carts are driven as a part of a competition. The loud music of drums and coaxing and goading of the bullocks into a faster pace are infectious and exciting. At three in the morning the cart festival is celebrated. Devotees fulfill their vows by lighting the path with torches, while the idol for procession is brought down from hill top to be placed on the cart. About twenty - five thousand devotees congregate during this festival and a fair is held in an area of over thirteen acres.

Uravakonda, the taluk headquarters in Anantapur district has Siddheswara, Malleswara Subbaraya and Pundurangaswami temples. The Siddheswara temple is located within the spacious high-walled compound of Gavimutt which was established by Karibasavaswami, the disciple of Vairagya, Chennabasavaswami, a great Saiva saint preaching the Basava cult. These saints are known for their austere life and service to humanity. The samadhi of Karibasavaswami which is near the yogamantapa has been a place of worship for the last two centuries. The chariot festival is celebrated for the eight days in the month of phalguna. Forty to fifty thousand devotees from different states attend this festival. A fair is held during these eight days in the open grounds in front of the temple. Feeding of poor is also organised.

Alampuram, the taluk headquarters in Mahboob Nagar district, it is on the bank of the river Tungabhadra and it is a sacred place. Alampuram is reputed for 'Koti lingas'. The place is known as Brahmeswaram. The Brahmeswaram is the only place where an image of Brahma with four head is worshipped. This is also called Parasurama Kshetram as sage Parasurama is said to have lived here with his parents - Jamadagmi and Renuka. It is here that dutiful Parasurama carried out the orders of his father and cut off his mother's head. The head of Renuka is worshipped as Ellamma throughout Andhra and her trunk that remained there is worshipped as Bhudevi or mother of earth. The beautifully sculptured stone torso of Renuka, is housed in a mantapa near Bala Brahmeswara. Married couples who have no children offer butter to the trunk idol and take it back as sacred prasadam. There are nine Brahmeswara temples built in the northern style inside the fort area of Alampuram. They are Balabrahma, Kumarabrahma, Arkabrahma, Virabrahma, Viswabrahma, Tarakabrhma, Garuda brahma, Swargabrahma and Padmabrahma temples. The Balabrahma Shivalingam is said to be 'Swayambhu' self born. All the water that is poured on Balabrahmeswaralingam, during Abhisheka, sinks just round the lingam without a drop flowing outside. Other temples venerate Dumthi, Ganapathi, Daltatroya, Narasimhaswami, Anjaneyaswami, Suryanarayama-venkateswara, and Krishna.

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