Famous Bara Shaheed Dargah at Nellore

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.

- Mark Twain

Bara Shaheed Dargah (or Mosque of 12 martyrs) is located in Nellore, Andra Pradesh, India. The mosque is very famous and every year lakhs of people all over India gather here during the time of Urs festival in the mosque. The mosque is known to have many miraculous powers where many are healed and blessed with their wishes coming true.

HISTORY:

The Bara Shahid Dargah is build in the memory of 12 Muslim Nawabs from Karnataka who gave their lives who laid down their lives for the sake of Peace, communal harmony and goodwill. . It is believed that they lost their lives in a war some 1200 years ago and their chopped heads fell at a place at Nellore. So dargah has been constructed at the place where the sacred heads of these 12 martyrs were found. Due to this reason, this dargah also known as "Mosque of the tweleve martyrs."

FESTIVALS:

• Muhram is celebrated in a grand manner and it is very famous in Nellore because of Bara Shaheeds Dargah Shareef. The annual event is being observed on the sidelines of Moharram in the memory of 12 martyrs, who laid down their lives in the sacred war for communal harmony.
• The main event of the three day festival, the Gandhotsavam (applying sandal paste to tombs) will be held every year.
• The Sandal celeberations are popularly known as Rottela Panduga (Rotiyon Ki Eid or Festival Of Breads) in the local language.

Roti festival or Rottela Panduga

• A three-day roti festival commences at the Bara Shaheed Dargah inNellore on the annual festival which begins on the third day after Moharam.
• Every year Festival of Bread or (in Telugu: Rottela Panduga) / Roti ki Eid happens in the month of Moharram
• More than 5 lakhs devotees of all religions attend the festival from all over the world.
• The Bread's offered in the festival will bring luck of their desire / choice to devotees.There are different kind of Rotis viz. Rozi Ki Roti (the bread for employment), Rizq Ki Roti (the bread for food), Shadi Ki Roti (the bread for marriage), Sehat Ki Roti (the bread for good health) and many more depending on the type of wish that one has.
• Each type of bread corresponds to what one wishes for in life, for example if you wish for good health in life you should go to the Dargah and make a wish for the same and when your wish is fullfilled you should offer a Roti at the pond at the time of Sandal which in turn will be accepted by someone else who also wishes for good health in life and once his wish is fullfilled he should come and offer rotis in a simillar manner. Same thing applies to the other Rotis also.
• Devotees, mostly women, offer prayers and leave bread slices in the nearby lake, while those with similar wishes pick them up. The exchange of bread slices continues round the clock for three days.

HOW TO REACH?

• Nellore is well connected by rail and road.
• The nearest airports are located at Tirupati, Vijayawada and Chennai.
• Nellore is well connected by rail to all the major cities and states in South India.
• The city is also connected by a well maintained network of roads to all major towns and cities of the state.
• It is just 173 kms from Chennai city.
• Bara Shaheed Dargah located Nellore itself between the Podalakur road centre and D.K. Women’s college. You can reach this dargah by local autos or local city buses or taxis.