Sarakka (Saralamma)
Sammakka's daughter · Warrior of Kannepally · Arrives first at the Jatara
Who Is Sarakka?
Sarakka — also called Saralamma or Saraka — is the daughter of Sammakka and Pagididda Raju, the Koya chieftain of Medaram. She is the co-deity of the Sammakka Sarakka Jatara, and her name is inseparable from her mother's in the festival's very title. Like Sammakka, she fought against the Kakatiya tax forces during the 13th-century battle near Medaram, and she was killed in the fighting near a village called Kannepally. After her death, the Koya community deified her, and she has been worshipped alongside Sammakka ever since.
One of the most telling details of the Jatara ritual is this: Sarakka's Aderalu (sacred vessel) arrives at Medaram before her mother's. On Day 1 of the four-day Jatara, Sarakka's procession comes from Kannepally to Medaram. Only on Day 2 does Sammakka descend from Chilukalagutta. The Koya interpretation is that the daughter prepares the way for her mother — a ritual inversion of ordinary family hierarchy that speaks to the depth of Sarakka's standing in the tradition.
Arrives Before Her Mother
Sarakka's vessel reaches Medaram on Jatara Day 1. Sammakka comes from Chilukalagutta on Day 2. The daughter opens the festival for the mother — a unique ritual sequence in the Jatara tradition.
Warrior Who Fought
Sarakka joined her mother in the battle against Kakatiya forces. She fell near Kannepally village — where her Aderalu vessel is now stored between Jataras.
The Turmeric Vessel
Where Sammakka is represented by a kumkum (red) casket, Sarakka's Aderalu is anointed with Bandaru — a turmeric-vermilion yellow powder. Yellow is Sarakka's color; red is Sammakka's.
Kannepally
The village near which Sarakka fell in battle. Her Aderalu vessel is stored there and brought to Medaram at the start of each Jatara by the Kaka Vadde hereditary priestly family.
The Story of Sarakka
Birth and Marriage
Sarakka was the eldest daughter of Sammakka and Pagididda Raju. She married Govinda Raju, a Koya nobleman from Kondayi village. Their marriage united two Koya families in the Medaram region. Govinda Raju is also remembered and honoured at the Jatara — his symbolic presence is carried from Kondayi — though he is a secondary figure compared to the women of the tradition.
The Battle
When the Kakatiya administration sent forces to collect kappam (tribute) during the famine, the Sammakka family refused. Sarakka went into battle alongside her mother, her father Pagididda Raju, and her brother Jampanna. The battle unfolded near the stream now called Jampanna Vagu. Pagididda Raju and Jampanna died fighting. Sarakka continued the resistance but was killed near the village of Kannepally. The exact geography of these events is preserved in the Koya oral tradition with remarkable precision — each place of death corresponds to where a sacred vessel is now kept.
Deification
After Sarakka fell, the Koya community recognized her sacrifice and began worshipping her alongside her mother. The Aderalu — a sacred pot anointed with Bandaru — was established at Kannepally as her vessel and her home between Jataras. The Kaka Vadde priestly family took hereditary responsibility for Sarakka's vessel, as the Dubbagatta Vadde family took responsibility for Sammakka's.
Sarakka's Worship at the Jatara
Sarakka has her own Gadde (sacred platform) at Medaram, distinct from Sammakka's. Pilgrims offer Bandaru (turmeric powder) and bangaram (jaggery) at her Gadde. Many pilgrims who come for Sammakka's darshan also offer separate prayers at Sarakka's Gadde — the two are regarded as mother and daughter who should both be honoured.
🌿 Bandaru Offering
The distinctive offering for Sarakka — turmeric-saffron yellow powder. Applied to her Aderalu vessel during the Jatara. Yellow distinguishes Sarakka's identity from Sammakka's red.
🌿 Bangaram Offering
Like her mother, Sarakka also receives jaggery offerings from pilgrims. The bangaram (gold) offering is common to all the Sammakka family deities at the Jatara.
🎵 Day 1 Procession
Sarakka's arrival procession from Kannepally to Medaram officially opens the Jatara on Day 1. Thousands accompany the Aderalu as it is carried into the Gadde grounds — a moving, chaotic, and deeply devoted crowd.
🏔️ Return on Day 4
At the end of the Jatara, both Sammakka and Sarakka return to their respective homes: Sammakka's kumkum casket returns up Chilukalagutta, Sarakka's Aderalu returns to Kannepally. The return processions are emotionally charged moments — the deities leaving for another two years.
Sarakka's Place in the Tradition
The full name of the pilgrimage — Sammakka Sarakka Jatara — places both mother and daughter equally in the title. This is unusual in the Indian tradition of naming festivals after a single presiding deity. The Koya community chose to honour both women equally, preserving the historical fact that both fought, both died, and both deserve veneration. This dual naming is a small but significant act of folk historiography: it refuses to let Sarakka be forgotten in her mother's larger story.
For women pilgrims in particular, Sarakka's story resonates powerfully — a young woman who fought alongside her mother, died for her community's rights, and was honoured for 800 years as a result. The Jatara's pattern of Sarakka arriving before Sammakka is perhaps the most concise expression of this: the daughter walks ahead so the mother can follow. It is a relationship of equality and mutual honour, encoded in ritual.