Sharanabasaveshwar Rathotsava was celebrated with religious fervour here on Friday.
Tens of thousands of devotees turned up to witness the famous car festival, which marked the 195th death anniversary of the saint philosopher Sharanabasaveshwar.
The day also marked the peetarohana of the Sharanabasaveshwar Samsthan by the eighth Peetathipati of the Samsthan Poojya Dr. Sharanabasavappa Appa. As the decorated temple car was pulled around the temple complex, devotees flung bananas tied with dry dates at the temple car.
Right from the morning, people began gathering from different parts of the district and State on the temple premises for the annual festival.
Long queues were seen at the temple near the famous Sharanabasaveshwar tank as the devotees waited from afternoon to get a glimpse of the deity.
It is a practice among devotees to perform padayatras from their villages to the temple and offer their obeisances to Saint Sharanabasaveshwar. Most of the devotees observe fast from dawn to dusk and have their dinner only after the temple car is drawn in the evening.
The car festival is an important religious and cultural event of the region, with a large number of Muslim devotees taking part.
