..........
According to the Hindu religious scholars and pundits, once upon a time there was a King named Dharmangada who belonged to the Chola Dynasty. This particular king largely ruled over South India. His wife gave birth to a girl child after many years of rituals and prayer. She was named as Princess Lakshmi.
During Baby Lakshmi brought up she survived many unforeseen accidents and incidents in life. The parents felt life and death while bring up their only child. Later they named their daughter as Bathukamma. According to the Telugu language, Bathuku means life and Amma means a female names and mother.
Then on this particular Bathukamma festival is grandly celebrated by young girls in Telangana region of Telangana in India. The main purpose of this particular festival is to pray with devotion to the Goddess in the strong belief that all young girls would get their beloved husbands as per their desire and wish soon.
On the other hand, married women along with their household friends and relatives celebrate this festival in order to pray to the Goddess for prosperity and good health of their family. This particular festival is primarily celebrated by unmarried young girls who are in the marriageable age. On the other hand men folks along with their wife’s and other family members, relatives and friends help in the gathering of flowers and floral arrangement of a beautiful flower stack during the festival season.
This festival is plays a vital role in the culture and tradition of telangana region of Telangana. Every year, Bathukamma festival is eagerly looked forward by the Hindu religious people.
Bathukamma festival has many myths behind its festivity. According to the Hindu religious scholars and pundits, one myth regarding Goddess Gauri is that she after a fierce fight killed ‘Mahishasura’ the demon. After this serious act, she went into deep sleep due to fatigue on the ‘Aswayuja Padyami’ day. All the Hindu religious devotees strongly prayed with devotion and dedication for her to wake up. It is to be noted that she woke up on the Dasami day.
The other version of Bathukamma is that there was a king named Dharmangada and a queen named Satyavati belonging to Chola Dynasty. They lost their hundred sons in the war front. So they prayed and performed ritual to Goddesses Lakshmi to be born as their daughter. The Goddesses heard it and immediately obliged them. On her birth, many scholar and pundits visited the baby at the royal palace and blessed her by calling Bathukamma or live forever.
Another version says that Parvathi or Batakamma is a adherent lover of flowers. The seasonal flowers of spring are arranged on a square bamboo frame or square wooden plank with the size of frames that is hardly tapering off to directly form a pinnacle on the top. It looks like the shape of a temple tower or ‘Gopura’. On top of the flowers, a lump of turmeric is kept. The worship of Goddess Batakamma is done with this little floral is mountain.
This festival belongs to the women folk of Telangana region. Then men and children participate with lot of interest and enthusiasm in this festivity. The young unmarried girls play a active role in this festival.
