Kartika worship draws devotees to Navuluru’s Kumaraswamy and Nagendra Swamy shrines

Devotees are visiting the Kumaraswamy statue and nearby Nagendra Swamy anthill shrine at Navuluru in Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, during Kartika month. Worshippers offer lamps at the statue. Local tradition regards the anthill as self-manifested. Devotees offer milk, fruit and flowers, particularly during Kartika month and Nagula Chavithi. Members of both Hindu and Muslim communities visit the shrine.

Notable Points

• Regional anthill rites: In South Indian Naga Panchami traditions, women decorate anthills with turmeric, vermilion, sugar mixed with wheat flour and flowers attached to wooden frames. In Maharashtra, devotees circle an anthill five times while singing in praise of snake deities.
• South Indian folk belief: In South Indian folk tradition, termite hills are regarded as dwellings of female nagammas.
• Coorg’s noka platform: In Coorg, an ancestral platform called a noka is set with rough stones believed to embody ancestors in snake form. The stones are not necessarily worshipped on Naga Panchami.