Signalling the start of a new tradition, the idol (utsavamoorthy) of Goddess Chamundeshwari was brought in a procession from Chamundi Hills to the palace ahead of the Jamboo Savari and was witnessed by a large number of devotees here on Friday.
The practice all these years was to bring the idol in a vehicle a few hours before the Vijayadashmi procession or the Jamboo Savari and place it inside the palace, oblivious to the large gathering. The idol would then be shifted to the golden howdah and hoisted on the elephant’s back a few minutes before the commencement of the Vijayadashmi procession.
But the authorities this year decided to bring the idol in a separate procession from Chamundeshwari temple atop the Chamundi Hills to the palace to enable the general public and those who cannot make it to the Jamboo Savari, to get a glimpse of the deity.
The district in-charge Minister S.T.Somashekar; S.A. Ramdas, G.T.Deve Gowda, MLAs; Pratap Simha, Mp, and others flagged off the procession that comprised cultural troupes and ensemble of musicians and members of various bhajan mandals besides priests and scholars chanting hymns.
A special puja was conducted to the deity and the idol was taken around the temple to witness which a large crowd had gathered at the Chamundi Hills itself.
The decorated idol was transferred to a motorised chariot which was embellished for the occasion and people gathered on both sides of the procession route to catch a glimpse since 8 a.m. The chariot with the idol slowly inched its way from the Chamundi Hills to Kurubarahalli Circle and then to Ittigegud where prayers were conducted near the Satyanarayana Swami temple. Crackers were lit to herald the arrival of the procession.
The procession then passed through Mansara Road, Lokaranjan Road and J.C.Wadiyar Circle to the Jayamartanda Gate of the palace where it was received with due honours after which it was ushered into the Amba Vilas section of the palace.
Given the response of the public, this could be a permanent feature and emerge as a new practice similar to Gajapayana which went out of vogue until it was revived 20 years ago.
