• Devotees throng Mysore Palace for darshan of Utsava Murtis
• Yoga enthusiasts perform mass 108 Suryanamaskaras

Mysore/Mysuru: Hundreds of devotees thronged the Mysore Palace this morning to have a darshan of the Utsava Murtis on the occasion of Rathasapthami.

Eight Utsava Murtis of various Gods and Goddesses from Palace temples were brought out and placed in front of the Palace, enabling devotees to have darshan.

Rathasapthami is a Hindu festival observed on the seventh day (Saptami) of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu month of Maagha. It represents Surya, the Sun God, riding his chariot drawn by seven horses — signifying the seven colours — moving in a north-easterly direction towards the Northern Hemisphere. All the idols were specially decorated, and special pujas were performed in accordance with traditional and customary rituals.

The Utsava Murtis included Shwetha Varaha Swamy, Khille Venkataramana Swamy, Lakshmi Venkataramana Swamy, Prasanna Krishna, Gayathri Devi, Trinayaneshwara Swamy and Bhuvaneshwari. It is only during Rathasapthami that the ‘Prakarotsava’ is conducted after installing all the Utsava Murtis at one place.

Mass 108 Suryanamaskaras

Mysore Yoga Okkuta, as part of its 35th anniversary, organised a mass 108 Suryanamaskaras in front of the Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple early this morning.

The event was inaugurated by senior journalist Amshi Prasanna Kumar. Over 300 yoga enthusiasts, including several foreigners, performed Suryanamaskara as the Sun emerged on the horizon.

Mysore Yoga Okkuta Honorary President Dr. A.S. Chandrashekar presided over the programme. D. Srihari of GSS Yoga Foundation, A.P. Nagesh, Managing Partner of APN Properties, and social worker Dr. K. Raghuram Vajpayee were present as chief guests.

Mysore Yoga Okkuta President K.G. Devaraju, Honorary President T. Jalendra Kumar, Working Presidents Dr. B.P. Murthy and Shantharam, Vice-Presidents M.S. Shivaprakash, M.S. Ramesh Kumar and Ashadevi, General Secretary Yogakumar, along with others, were present.