Polala Amavasya

Polala Amavasya - Aug 25th 2014

 Polala Amavasya

Polala amavasya- is an important vratham dedicated to Goddess Poleramma, observed on Sravana Amavasya (no moon day). Poleramma is the local deity. This vratham is mainly observed in Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Karnataka. North Indians celebrate as Pithori amavasya and Maharashtrians as Pola. Goddess Poleramma is known as the protector of children. Every year, offering prayers to Poleramma coincides on the amavasya day and hence thevrathamis called Polala amavasya. Symbolically Goddess is worshiped in the form of “kanda mokka”(suran or yam shrub) or“kanda dumpa”(suran or yam bulb).Women perform pujaan draksha thoranam(sacred thread) is also worshipped during the puja. According to vrata texts, by performing thisvrata, one can safe guard their children from the clutches of death.Women tie the sacred thread to her children after reading the story about a mother who prayed Poleramma to help bring back her dead young children. For the welfare of the male children fried sweet balls of chanadal and jaggery are made, for the welfare of female children urad dal vadas are made and offered to Goddess Poleramma. 

Polala Amavasya Vrata Katha

Polala Amavasya vrat is performed on last day of Shravana masam on Amavasya. Once there used to live seven brothers. All of them had children. The wives of all the seven brothers wished to perform the Polala Amavasya Vratam. But the kid of the lasr brother dies and hence all of them were unable to perform the Vrat. As if someone dies in a house, the whole family cannot perform any vratams or celebrate any festivals.

This process continued for six years. And each year the kid of the last brother used to die. On the seventh year also, when the kid of the seventh brother dies, the wife of the seventh brother fears that the wives of other brothers would scold her and accuse of her being the reason for they not being able to perform the Vrat, she hides the dead body of the kid in the home and goes to perform the Vrat.

In the night after the Vrat, the wife of the seventh brother takes the dead kid on her shoulder to the Poleramma temple on the outskirts. She cries looking at her dead kid. In the mean time the Goddess Polerama who has just started towards the village for patrolling, sees the seventh brothers wife and asks the reason for her worry.

The wife replies that, this the body of her seventh dead son and every year her sons have been dying for the past seven years because of which she or the wives of other brothers were not able to perform the Polalala Amavasya Vratam. This year she did not inform the death of her seventh son and perfomed the Vrat along with others. She brought the dead kid here and was crying.

The Goddess felt sad for her and showed mercy on her. She gave her some Akshintalu (Turmeric rice grains) and asked her to sprinkle them in the place where she had buried the other kids and call them by their names.

The seventh did as the Goddess said and as she called out the name after sprinkling the Akshintalu, each of her son came alive.

She returned home with all the seven kids. Everyone asked who was she able to get her seven kids back. She narrated the whole story of what happened.

From that day onwards, everyone in the village started to perform the Polala Amavasya Vratam.

Note:  There is no Udyapana for Polala Amavasya Vratam. This is can be done by everyone. 

Polala Amavasya  Procedure