Poleramma

Poleramma
Poleramma
	Murti of Poleramma at the Beeramgunta temple, Nellore
Affiliation	Devi
Personal information
Siblings	Pothuraju (brother)

Poleramma (Telugu: పోలేరమ్మ) is a Hindu goddess of plague and smallpox.^[1]^[2] She is predominantly worshipped in the villages of Andhra Pradesh,^[3] and is regarded as a regional consort of Shiva.^[4]

Description

Poleramma is worshipped as a village goddess whose role is to server as the protector of the village. Her shrine is usually present outside the boundaries of the village, and often appears crudely built with mud and stones. She is considered a goddess of smallpox, and is associated with the goddess Mariamman of Tamil Nadu. She is regarded to oversee cattle disease, drought, and general health welfare. According to Yanadi tradition, the goddess causes smallpox to her adherents when she is not offered veneration. She is venerated by the community on a fixed day in a special hut after they are cured of the disease.^[5]

Legend

Poleramma is regarded to be one of the seven sister-goddesses worshipped by adherents in rural Andhra Pradesh, having a brother named Pothuraju.^[6]

Festival

A festival is dedicated to Poleramma, lasting three days. A buffalo is sacrificed as an offering to the goddess, its blood poured into a pot and ritually scattered around the village.^[7]

References

^ Jordan, Michael (14 May 2014). Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses. Infobase Publishing. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-4381-0985-5.
^ Claus, Peter; Diamond, Sarah; Mills, Margaret (28 October 2020). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 381. ISBN 978-1-000-10122-5.
^ Jakimowicz, Marta (1988). Metamorphoses of Indian Gods. Seagull Books. p. 28. ISBN 978-81-7046-029-9.
^ Walker, Benjamin (9 April 2019). Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L. Routledge. p. 399. ISBN 978-0-429-62465-0.
^ Rao, N. Sudhakar (2002). Ethnography of a Nomadic Tribe: A Study of Yanadi. Concept Publishing Company. p. 73. ISBN 978-81-7022-931-5.
^ Coelho, Gail (8 October 2018). Annotated Texts in Beṭṭa Kurumba. BRILL. p. 319. ISBN 978-90-04-37824-7.
^ Coelho, Gail (8 October 2018). Annotated Texts in Beṭṭa Kurumba. BRILL. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-90-04-37824-7.

[1] Jordan, Michael (14 May 2014). Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses. Infobase Publishing. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-4381-0985-5.

[2] Claus, Peter; Diamond, Sarah; Mills, Margaret (28 October 2020). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 381. ISBN 978-1-000-10122-5.

[3] Jakimowicz, Marta (1988). Metamorphoses of Indian Gods. Seagull Books. p. 28. ISBN 978-81-7046-029-9.

[4] Walker, Benjamin (9 April 2019). Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L. Routledge. p. 399. ISBN 978-0-429-62465-0.

[5] Rao, N. Sudhakar (2002). Ethnography of a Nomadic Tribe: A Study of Yanadi. Concept Publishing Company. p. 73. ISBN 978-81-7022-931-5.

[6] Coelho, Gail (8 October 2018). Annotated Texts in Beṭṭa Kurumba. BRILL. p. 319. ISBN 978-90-04-37824-7.

[7] Coelho, Gail (8 October 2018). Annotated Texts in Beṭṭa Kurumba. BRILL. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-90-04-37824-7.

v t e Hindu temples in Andhra Pradesh
Anantapur	Bugga Ramalingeswara Temple Chintala Venkataramana Temple Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi
Chittoor	Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple Ardhagiri Temple Boiyakonda Gangamma Temple Konetirayala Temple, Keelapatla Pallikondeswara Temple, Surutapalli Venugopalaswamy Temple, Karvetinagaram
East Godavari	Annavaram Satyanarayana Temple Biccavolu Draksharama Kodandarama Temple, Gollala Mamidada Kotipalli Kumararama Kukkuteswara Temple Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Antarvedi Mukteswaram Pithapuram Sripada Srivallabha Temple Suryanarayana Temple, Gollala Mamidada Talupulamma Lova
Guntur	Amaralingeswara Temple Bhavanarayana Swami Temple Chebrolu Kotappakonda Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Mangalagiri Venkateswara Temple, Tenali
Kadapa	Gandi Anjaneya Temple Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta Narapura Venkateswara Temple, Jammalamadugu Pushpagiri Temple Complex
Krishna	Andhra Maha Vishnu Jaladheeswara Temple Kanaka Durga Temple Paritala Anjaneya Temple Peddintlamma Temple, Kolletikota
Kurnool	Ahobilam Kambagiri Koulutla Chenna Kesava Temple Mantralayam Sangameswara Temple, Kurnool Srisailam Yaganti
Nellore	Kodandarama Temple, Buchireddipalem Penchalakona Ranganatha Temple, Nellore
Prakasam	Gangamma Temple, Dhenuvakonda Tripurantakam
Srikakulam	Arasavalli Sun Temple Kurmanathaswamy temple, Srikurmam Mukhalingam Ranganatha Temple, Vavilavalasa
Tirupati	Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala Padmavathi Temple Srikalahasteeswara temple Alipiri Padala Mandapam Govindaraja Temple, Tirupati Kapileswara Temple, Kapilatheertham Kodandarama Temple, Tirupati Kalyana Venkateswara Temple, Srinivasamangapuram Prasanna Venkateswara Temple, Appalayagunta Vedanarayana Temple, Nagalapuram Kalyana Venkateswara Temple, Narayanavanam Varahaswamy Temple, Tirumala
Visakhapatnam	Devipuram Temple ISKCON Temple Visakhapatnam Kali Temple Balighattam Nookambika Temple Padmanabham Simhachalam Temple Someswara Swamy Temple Sri Kanaka Maha Lakshmi Temple Sri Sampath Vinayagar Temple
Vizianagaram	Ramanarayanam Ramatheertham Punyagiri
West Godavari	Somaramam, Bhimavaram Kotasattemma Temple Ksheerarama Maddi Anjaneya Temple Sivadevuni Chikkala Veerabhadra Temple, Pattiseema Venkateswara Temple, Dwaraka Tirumala