RAJANNA-SIRCILLA, FEBRUARY 14, 2026: The three-day Maha Shivarathri jatara got off to a religious and colourful start at Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanams in Vemulawada of Rajanna-Sircilla district on Saturday.
For the first time, the jatara is being held at Sri Bheemeshwara temple following the renovation works of the devasthanams main temple. The devotees have started arriving in hordes to offer prayers to the presiding deity and occupy every available place at the temple town.
The jatara commenced with the presentation of silk cloths to the presiding deity by the officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) on Saturday. Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar will present silk cloths to the presiding deity on behalf of the State government on Sunday.
Local devotees will be allowed darshan from 11.30 pm on Saturday to 3.30 am on Sunday. On Sunday, public representatives and local officials will have darshan from 2:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. In the evening, Shiva Deeksha devotees will have darshan from 4 pm to 5.30 pm. Priests will perform Maha Lingarchana from 6 pm to 8 pm. Mahanyasapurvaka Ekadasha Rudrabishekam will be performed at the time of lingodbhava at 11.35 pm. A free bus service to transport devotees from Thippapur bus stand to the temple was launched on Saturday.
After having darshan of the presiding deity, the Minister, along with in-charge Collector Garima Agarwal, conducted a review meeting with officials on the temple renovation works and instructed them to expedite the works. Located on the banks of Mulavagu, Vemulawada was the capital of the Vemulawada Chalukyas between 750 AD and 973 AD, during which several temples were constructed. Known as ‘Dakshina Kashi’, the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Temple is a historic 11th-century Shiva temple built by the Vemulawada Chalukyas. It was constructed by Mahamandaleshwara Rajaditya in 1083 AD. The temple is known for the unique tradition of Kodemokku, offering a calf.
Devotees from across the State and neighbouring States, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, visit the shrine. Thousands of pilgrims are expected to visit the temple during Maha Shivaratri. The temple town is located about 150 km from Hyderabad. For the convenience of devotees, 475 rooms are available in the temple’s guest houses, including Bheemeshwara Sadan, Nandishwara, Lakshmi Ganapathi and Parvathipuram. While Rs. 1,500 is charged per day for non-AC rooms, AC rooms are priced at Rs. 2,500 per day. Besides the temple guest houses, about 4,000 rooms are available in private lodges in the town.
