The Navaratri celebrations of the Wadiyars began at the palace on Sunday in continuation of a hoary tradition inherited from the rulers of the Vijayanagar empire.
Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar performed the religious rites which has been prescribed in the scriptures and texts followed by the Wadiyars and he was assisted by priests drawn from various mutts and temples.
The preparations for the festival begins with the assembly of the golden throne which itself has an elaborate procedure and is completed a few days before the commencement of the Navaratri. The religious rites officiated by the priests during the festival include performance of homas and consecration besides chanting of the hymns which was duly followed by Yaduveer.
After the religious rites, Yaduveer took part in the private durbar, ascended the golden throne, and received blessings and offerings from the priests. The other rituals including the worship of the deities of various temples within the palace premises were also performed and a retinue of palace attendants, caparisoned elephants and horses went in a procession from the palace to the Someshwara temple. The religious ceremonies will be held daily till Vijayadashmi to be celebrated on October 24.
The details of the ceremonies followed by the Wadiyars is documented in the Mysore Gazetteer and ‘’The Dasara in Mysore’’ written by Hayavadhana Rao in the early 1930s.
The various rites and the background behind them are explained in nature and the book mentions that on the morning of Asvayuja Suddha, the family tutelary deity Sri Chamundeshwari is invoked and puja is offered to Ganesha. “This is followed by Kankanadharana or investing of the silken thread which is tied to the wrist followed by puja in the durbar hall,” according to the book on Mysuru Dasara.
The other rituals that follow are also elaborated by Hayavadhana Rao and this includes puja to the golden throne and the ceremony of formally ascending after going around it thrice. There is the worship of the royal sword and the offerings from the various mutts to the king all of which are performed to this day.
Yaduveer followed the rites and rituals which were initiated by Raja Wadiyar in Srirangapatna in 1610 CE who, according to Hayavadhana Rao, drew an elaborate set of rules and regulations for its celebrations and attained popularity under his successors. An account of the celebrations is found in Kanthirava Narasaraja Viyayam dated to 1648 CE of Dasara or Navaratri celebrated by Kanthirava Narasaraja Wadiyar in 1617, according to Hayavadhana Rao.
From 1610 CE the Wadiyars have followed the traditions without much alteration and though the events are held in the Amba Vilas section and closed to the general public in the present times, they add an unique aura to Mysuru Dasara.
