Jamboo Savari marches on after CM, other dignitaries offer flowers to Goddess Chamundeshwari

MYSURU: The much-awaited grand Jamboo Savari, wherein the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, clad in a green silk saree, was carried in the 750-kg golden howdah by elephant Abhimanyu, started off a little after 5 pm.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, District in-charge minister H C Mahadevappa, Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar offering flowers to the deity. This was followed by a gun salute even as the state anthem played.

The muhurat for the Jamboo Savarai was to be between 4.40 pm and 5 pm. However, it moved only a few minutes after the muhurat had passed. Earlier, the golden howdah taken in a trolley and hoisted up on Abhimanyu’s back using a crane. Captain Abhimanyu was accompanied with 14 other elephants.

The grand Dasara procession was led by Nishane Aane Arjuna, followed by Bhima, Gopi, Dhananjaya, Mahendra and Prashant. The procession will culminate at the Bannimantap grounds where a torchlight parade will be conducted by the Karnataka State Reserve Police around 7 pm. This will mark the conclusion of the 10-day Dasara festivities, which is celebrated across the state as Naada Habba (state festival).

The Dasara procession began from the Mysuru palace on Tuesday afternoon after Chief Minister Siddaraiamah offered puja to the Nandi Dhwaja.

This is the 414th Mysuru Dasara festival. The Vijaya yatra was held as part of a private durbar at the Mysuru Palace before the start of the Dasara procession. Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar performed puja to the Banni tree. The traditional ‘vajramushti kalaga’ was also held in the morning at the Kalyana Mantapa in front of the Mysuru Palace.

Various religious rituals were held at Chamundi Hills and Mysuru palace since early in the day. After the puja, the Utsav idol of Godess Chamundeshwari was brought from Chamundi hill to Deeksha mantapa in the palace premises in a decked-up vehicle in a grand procession, accompanied with traditional music, cultural troupes.

About 49 different tableaux and cultural teams participated in the procession. The tableau of the Department of Information and Public Relations on the theme of the five guarantees of the government attracted the attention of tourists. The tableaux taking part in the procession highlight the glory of different districts.

At the palace premises, arrangements were made to seat more than 30,000 people including the CM, members of the royal family, dignitaries and the public. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar, District Deputy Commissioner Dr K V Rajendra, Mayor Shivakumar, District In-charge Minister H C Mahadevappa led the celebrations.

In Karnataka, Dasara is observed as a state festival – Naada Habba and the celebration is steered by the erstwhile Mysuru royal family. A large number of tourists and visitors come from across the nation and abroad to take part in the Mysuru Dasara. The police had tightened security in Mysuru and thousands of policemen were deployed.