The private Dasara of the Wadiyars inherited from the rulers of Vijayanagara emperors and being followed since 1610 A.D. got under way at the Mysuru palace with full regalia, on Saturday.
A practice initiated by Raja Wadiyar in 1610 A.D. when he ascended the throne at Srirangapatna, it is a tradition followed since then without a breach and has a recorded history of at least 400 years.
The cynosure of all eyes was the titular king Yaduveer Krishnadutta Chamaraja Wadiyar, who was adopted by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar in 2014 following the demise of her husband Srikantadutta Narasimharaja Wadiyar in December 2013.
Yaduveer, who is expected to carry forward the Wadiyar tradition of observing all religious rites and rituals associated with Dasara, is participating in the events for the second time since his adoption, while it was the first Dasara for his wife Trishika.
A battery of priests officiated the rituals performed by Yaduveer while a retinue of palace staff and officials complete with the caparisoned elephants marched to the Someshwara temple in the palace precincts.
After the completion of rituals, Yaduveer ascended the golden throne, which is the main attraction during dasara as it is kept for public viewing only during the festivities. The Khas Durbar is a throwback to the past when the maharajas ruled supreme and brings alive a slice of the bygone era when the kings used to hold durbar on all days of the Dasara. A practice that is only symbolic in nature in the present times following the abolition of the institution of monarchy and the abolition of the privy purse, it also marks the continuation of a hoary tradition and is witnessed only during the Navaratri festival.
On ascending the throne, Yaduveer offered a salute and received tambula and prasad from various temples in the vicinity. The rituals and the procedures followed are similar to what was observed more than 400 years ago by the erstwhile rulers and is being kept alive by the successive generations of the Wadiyars as part of their culture and has given a royal aura to Mysuru Dasara. The zenith of Mysuru Dasara was attained during the regime of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar (1902-1940) whose glory has been captured by the palace artistes in the murals of the Amba Vials Palace.
