Hyderabad: Crowds throng celestial wedding of Yellamma

HYDERABAD: Lakhs of devotees turned up for the grand celestial wedding of Goddess Renuka Yellamma at the Balkampet Yellamma temple on Tuesday. Temple authorities said nearly five lakh people may participate in the rituals till late in the night.
The celebrations took place in the newly-inaugurated temple shed, which was built for the benefit of devotees who throng the temple during Ashada month’s Bonalu and kalyanam celebrations.The state government was represented by Ministers Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Indrakaran Reddy, who presented a sari to the goddess which was specially handwoven in-house for the first time by eight artisans. They also presided over the wedding rituals. The wedding ceremony is celebrated every year on the first Tuesday of Ashadam month.
For the wedding, new idols are used every year and this year a donor came forward to get them made specially at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. According to mythology, Yellamma is an incarnation of goddess Renuka, who was married to Jamadagni. She gains her popularity amongst the masses for a unique belief that after having her head severed by her son upon her husband’s command, she was given a second chance at life. However, in this second chance, her body was affixed with the head of another woman, who was also beheaded at that time.