A town turns yellow in its devotion to a god during the Bhandara festival.
KHANDOBA IS A GOD of many names—Maillara, Malhari, Mallari-Martanda, Mhalasakanta, Mailar, Mairala, Mallukhana and Bhairava. An important folk deity of the Deccan Plateau, he is worshipped in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. According to writer R.C. Dhere, Khandoba was originally a folk deity—Maillara—from Karnataka who became Bhairava (an avatar of Shiva) in Maharashtra.
There are many legends woven around Khandoba. It is said Maillara was a valorous king who, accompanied by seven crore (Yelekota) soldiers, defeated the demons Mani-Malla. His devotees, therefore, chant ‘Yelkota Yelkota, Jaya Malhara’. He was also worshipped by the pastoral-nomadic tribes, and is a kula devata (ancestral god) of many families from different communities like Dhangar, Kolis, Sonar, Kunbi, Maratha, Deshastha and Karhade Brahmins. Muslim devotees call him ‘Mallukhana’, reportedly after a Pathan who married a Muslim woman.
This story is from the July 08, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the July 08, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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