All set for AP’s official Festival Mahashivaratri on hilltop Kotappakonda

VIJAYAWADA: In a unique act, farmers donated Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per acre for the construction of a devotional Prabhalu at a cost of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for each chariot during the Maha Shivaratri in the famous hilltop pilgrimage centre of Kotappakonda, also called Kottappakonda Tirunallu.

This religious tradition has been continuing for decades. This year, Prabhalu also comes to the hilltop Kotappakonda for the Maha Shivaratri.

The speciality of Kotappakonda Shivaratri is that the devotional chariots would come to the temple with the banners and flags of political parties, mainly the YSRC and the Telugu Desam.

The Prabhalu made of bamboo, and decorated with colourful clothes, are illuminated with electric lighting. These would be tall at 50-70 feet and the surrounding villages would bring these chariots to the hilltop in processions.

Interestingly, the supporters of both YSR Congress and Telugu Desam would decorate their chariots with party flags and they compete with each other to decorate Prabhas. Political leaders including ministers, MLAs and MPs would join the Tirunallu.

The Kotappakonda Tirunallu is a state festival recognised by the AP government. Nearly 4-5 lakh people used to join the holy Maha Shivratri celebrations on the hilltop during Tirunallu, drawn from AP, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka etc.

Kotappakonda is the only hill that appears with three peaks in different directions and the stairway with 703 steps was constructed in 1761 by the then-king Gunda Rayalu. This is still helping the devotees reach the hilltop temple.

The villages around Kotappakonda -- namely Kavuru, Kammavaripalem, Aminsahebpalem, Appapuram, Maddirala, Yadavalli, Boppudi, Purshottammapatnam etc -- started construction of Prabhalu a month before Maha Shivaratri and bring the tall Prabhalu to the hilltop on the Shivaratri day.

Villagers like Kotte Venkata Ramana and Mallikarjuna Rao said the tradition of Prabhalu was continuing for the past 300 years with bamboo Prabhalu. The electric Prabhalu was started in 1946 by Kavuru village. Later, the rest of the villages started following Kavuru and now all the villages construct and rally electric Prabhalu to Kotappakonda.

The farmers voluntarily give Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per acre of land they hold as donations for the Prabha construction. Nearly Rs 20 lakh will be spent for the construction of a Prabha and Rs5 lakh used for the Annadanam (poor feeding) on Shivaratri.

Narasaraopet MLA Srinivas Reddy said the officials of all departments worked on the arrangements for the smooth conduct of the Thirunallu for the past 15 days. The APSRTC operates special buses to Kotappakonda from various areas of the state.