Mysuru: Nine Dasara elephants, led by Captain and Golden Howdah-carrier Abhimanyu, entered the Mysore Palace last evening. They were housed at Aranya Bhavan in Ashokapuram on their arrival to city on  Aug. 4 evening.

The nine Dasara jumbos are: Captain Abhimanyu, Bhima, Ekalavya, Mahendra, Kanjan, Dhananjaya, Prashantha, Lakshmi and Kaveri.

At about 3.30 pm, puja was performed to all the nine decorated elephants by the Forest Department at Aranya Bhavan following which the elephants, marched to the Palace.

As the jumbo team passed via Ballal Circle, RTO Circle, JLB Road, Ramaswamy Circle, Chamaraja Double Road and Gun House Circle, the large crowds, including children, gathered along the route and cheered for their favourite elephant braving the  heavy rains.

Elephants enter Palace before scheduled time

The nine Dasara elephants, which left Aranya Bhavan after puja at 3.30 pm, arrived at the Palace at 5.30 pm much earlier than their scheduled time.

The traditional puja to welcome them at Jayamarthanda Gate by the Mysore Palace Board was scheduled between 6.45 pm and 7.20 pm in the auspicious Makara Lagna.

Following the early arrival to the Palace, the nine elephants were led into the Palace premises through another gate and were brought back near Jayamarthanda Gate during the auspicious time.

The nine Dasara jumbos stood at the main gate during which Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Chief Priest Dr. N. Shashishekar Dixit and Priest S.V. Prahallad Rao performed the traditional  puja, following which the Mysore Palace Board welcomed the elephants into the Palace.

District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa and other elected representatives also welcomed the elephants by showering flower petals on them. 

City Police gave the elephants guard of honour and the Mounted Police followed by women carrying kalashas and folk troupes led the nine elephants to Aane Bagilu of the Palace.

Later, the Mysore Palace Board distributed welcome kits to the Mahouts and Kavadis that contain all the daily essentials and toiletries, following which the elephants were led to their designated places for rest.

City Police provided security to the Dasara elephants during their march from Aranya Bhavan to Mysore Palace. Minister K. Venkatesh, MLAs G.T. Devegowda, Tanveer Sait and T.S. Srivatsa, MLC Dr. D. Thimmaiah, Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) Chairman Ayub Khan, Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority Vice-Chairperson Dr. Pushpa Amarnath, Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Dasara Special Officer G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, Additional DC Dr. P. Shivaraju, Zilla Panchayat CEO S. Ukesh Kumar, Mysore Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF-Wildlife) Dr. I.B. Prabhugowda, City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar, Superintendent of Police (SP) N. Vishnuvardhana and others were present.