Cheruvugattu Jadala Ramalingeshwara Swami Shiva Temple

Loud and energetic cries of “Hara haramahadeva” and “omnamahashivaya” can be heard across all the Shiva temples scattered across the Nalgonda district. At the temple of Cheruvugattu, devotees are known to have formed long queues to offer prayers and devotion to their chief deity Lord Shiva. They perform special rituals and poojas. Agnigundalu is considered to be one of the prime festivals of the ongoing Brahmotsavalu. It is held during the night time. Dopotsavam, Mahapurnahuthi, Jyothirlingarchana and events are also conducted in the temple each pertaining to worship the different forms of Lord Shiva. The temple gods are taken out for a festive procession on Gajavahanam in the evening. This celebration marks the finale of the Brahmotsavalu. Bhakts in large numbers have been noted to visit the Cheruvugattu Jadala Ramalingeswara Swami Temple to witness the three-day 'Jatara'. The highlight of the festival is performing the chief deity's 'Kalyanam'. On the last day of the festival, a large majority of the Lord's devotees walk, mostly barefoot, on burning chunks of coal. The devotees believe that upon doing so, the lord ensures that they don't face any kind of pain or suffering in the time to come. Many religious bhakts also perform holy dips in the tank of the temple. They perform this because they believe that the water has medicinal properties. Three major 'gundus' (rocks) that reside in close proximity to the temple are also worshipped by the devotees. A Shivalingam has been worshipped on the third 'gundu' since several years. The people undertook the risk of performing the worship solely on themselves, since there neither are steps nor support on the rocks.