KURNOOL: Idols of Lord Ganesha, Shiva and other forms of divinity came alive in the vegetable carrying festival being organised as Shakambari Utsavam at Srisailam. 4,000 kg of every available vegetable and fruit varieties were sourced from devotees as offerings, said temple EO Sri Ramachandra Murthy.
Goddess Bhramaramba, the consort of Lord Shiva, was decked up with fruits, flowers and vegetables on Tuesday on the occasion of Ashada Pournami.
According to legend, when there was severe drought and famine, people had no way to source vegetables. Then, it was Goddess Parvathi who transformed herself into Shakambari or giver of vegetables to sustain the human kind.
The priest said that Durgamudu, belonging to Hiranyaksha clan, wanted to master the Vedas and become an embodiment of knowledge. He took up a course of penance and got a boon. As a result of this, Brahmins were distanced from Vedic learning.
They forgot Vedas and no offerings were made at the temples. As a result, great famine struck earth. It was at this juncture that Goddess Parvathi sought to provide succor. She killed Durgamudu and donned the role of Shakambari and gave vegetables to humankind to sustain their lives, the priest said.
Srisailam temple premises were decorated with hundreds of metres of vegetable buntings and festoons. The main entrance looked like a huge vegetable threshold on Tuesday.
Bottle gourds, water melons, pumpkins, lemons, brinjals, ladies fingers, cucumbers, chillies, tomatoes, and coloured vegetables found their way for temple decoration on eve of Shakambari festival.
