BENGALURU: The historic Bengaluru Karaga, which promotes communal harmony and an important religious event in the city, was taken out in a grand manner early on Sunday morning with over 10 lakh people, who lined up the streets, witnessing the spectacle.
The public procession, being held after a break of two years due to Covid, began at 3.10 am after a delay of over three hours due to the rain, which subsided around 10.30 pm on Saturday. The procession concluded at 8.30 am on Sunday, though it was supposed to end before sunrise. This is not the first time. The procession has been delayed earlier too because of the rain, said K Lakshmana, president of the South India Agnikula Vahnikula Kshathriya Mahasangha.
Muslims were part of the celebrations and they chanted “Govinda, Govinda ‘’, performed aratis and bowed to the deity as the procession was taken around Masthan Sahib Darga three times around 6.30 am. The Muslims offered sweets, juice, water and dry fruits to the devotees. At least 3,000 people from the minority community, including women, had gathered around the Darga and took videos and photos of the Karaga procession.
Lakshmana said that the procession also covered all the four Anjaneya Swamy temples at the gates of Old Bengaluru Fort area. Over 304 ‘sevakarthas’ and ‘kulasthas’ (households) performed pujas. Over 5,000 Veerakumaras (created by Draupadi Devi during the destruction of Thimirasura) from Vahnikula Kshthriya community did the ‘Halagu Seve’, which is beating themselves with knives to invite the Goddess.
Once the Karaga returned to Sri Dharamarayaswamy temple, it was kept at Shakthipeeta and Karaga poojari V Jnanendra Vahnikula Gowda received over 10,000 people who could not witness Karaga during the procession. On Monday, Vasanthotsava will be held and the flag will be lowered (dwaja awarohana), after which flower-bedecked Karaga will be immersed in a river on Tuesday. With that the festivities conclude, he said.