BENGALURU: After a gap of two years when the pandemic prevented the famous Karaga, one of Bengaluru’s oldest community festivals culminated with ‘Karaga Shakyotsava’, the ceremonial procession that started in early hours of Sunday.
The Karaga procession began on a grand note from Sri Dharmarayaswamy temple at Thigalarpet. While incessant rain saw the procession start two hours late at 1.30am, it failed to dampen the spirits of those gathered to view V Jnanendra Vahnikula Gowda carry the Karaga for the 11th straight year.
Large crowds gathered to watch the ‘Draupadi Devi Karaga Shakyotsava’ and ‘Sri Dharmarayaswamy Maha Rathotsava’. Arjuna Kalyanotsava (Draupadi and Arjuna’s wedding) was also performed at the Godhuli Lagna in the evening.
The Karaga began after various rituals and the night-long spectacle, where the Karaga, an earthen pot bedecked in flowers, was carried by Jnanendra through various bylanes of the old city. It passed through streets of Ulsoor pete, Nagarthpet, Cubbonpet, Ganigarapete, Avenue Road, Doddapete, Aralepete, Balepete, Kumbarpete, and Gollarapete before returning to the temple where it started.
The Karaga also received aratis from nearby temples and visited Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan Saheb Dargah in Cottonpet. tnn
