The town of Mysore never disappoints the travelers. It has
enough interesting places to keep the tourists occupied for days. Closer
proximity to many other places of interest bring many dedicated tourists to the
town again and again, year after year.
The cultural capital of Karnataka celebrated its 404th
Dasara festival last week. It was first celebrated in the year of 1610 by Raja Wodeyar I, and its splendor has
never diminished since then. But what was different this year was the absence
of Royal Darbar of the Wodeyar scion, following the demise of Srikantadatta Wodeyar. The point of
discussion now is whether the Mysore Kings were the prime reason behind the famous
Dasara festivity which Mysore observes or were they the enablers of it while
the festival was truly hailed by its citizens?
The Mysore kings were next to God for their citizens. The goddess Chamundeshwari
was family deity of Wodeyar dynasty. While
they worshiped her, they promoted Dasara as ‘Naada Habba’ (State festival). It was the kings who organized the
festivities and gave it prominence as the grandest festival observed in the
kingdom. A look into the history suggests ‘Dasara’ was a grand festival well before
the time of Mysore kings and the Wodeyar
dynasty made it grander.
The Mysore kings were not independent rulers in the beginning
but viceroy to the Vijayanagara kings.
And Dasara was the grand festival observed in the Vijayanagara kingdom until the
fall of its empire in 1565. The beginning of Dasara celebrations in Mysore by Wodeyar’s in the early 16th
century was a reintroduction of the festival in an effort to rekindle the lost
glory and might have been a way to win the hearts of commoners and gain wider
acceptance in establishing their kingdom. Also the Mysore kings put their heart
and passion into it and Dasara turned grander ever year passed under their
rule.
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| Left: Goddess Durga slaying Mahishasura; Middle: Dasara procession during Mysore kings rule; Right: Modern procession |
Though the effort of Mysore kings behind Dasara can never be
undermined, the Navaratri festival is
about worshiping the goddess Durga
or Chamundeshwari. The goddess is
worshiped since the time unknown and the legend has it that goddess Chamnudeshwari slayed a demon ‘Mahishasura’ whose name the modern name
of the town is derived from. Another legend has it that the Banni tree (where the Dasara procession
ends) was used by the Pandavas during
their ‘Ajnatavasa’. Long before the
Mysore region had its own ruler, goddess Chamndeshwari
and Banni tree were worshiped. The
kings, when in place, promoting the festival by worshiping the goddess Chamundeshwari and leading the Dasara
procession that ends at Banni tree
helped the popularity of the festival to reach its zenith.
After India gained its independence, the kingdoms fell
apart. But the royal family of Mysore had a role to play in the Dasara festival
while the State government was responsible for organizing the festival. This year Wodeyar dynasty lost its
prince and no other family member is officially recognized as the head of the family yet. And the festival of Dasara could not wait for it. The king is no more,
long live the Dasara.
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