Yellamma: Story of Mother Goddess

Yellamma: Story of Mother Goddess

This story is about the myth of Renuka, the wife of Jamadagni and mother of Parashurama, Rama with the axe, and how Renuka became Yellamma. The goddess is worshipped in Southern India particularly in and around Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Her main temple and pilgrimage site is located at Saundatii, Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka. The story of Renuka/Yellamma is narrated in Anusasanparva and Vanaparva of Mahabharata, and is presented with minor variations in various Puranas like Brahmandapurana, Visnupurana, Skandapurana as well as in some regional retellings. Though many variations of the story exist and the goddess is known by different names — Yellamma, Ellama, Renuka, Jogamma, Holiyamma, Elli Amma, and Ekvira — the core of the story remains the same and mother is called 'Mother of the Universe' or Jagadamba/Jagadambe.
The story presented here is derived from the seamless merging of Renuka myth with the myth of village goddess (gramadevi), and this merging of the mythological story/stories resulted in the development of Yellamma/Renuka cult, with followers from lower to higher strata of the society.