Devotees throng MM Hills for grand Maha Rathotsava

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: Lakhs of devotees participated in the Maha Rathotsava on Saturday, marking the grand conclusion of the five-day Shivarathri Jathra festival at Male Mahadeshwara temple in Hanur taluk, Chamarajanagar district. Various pujas and rituals, including Hulivahana and Basava Vahana, were performed. Special pujas were also conducted for Mahadeshwaraswamy Utsava Murthy, the presiding deity of MM Hills, inside the temple premises.

The traditional Bellada Arathi was performed by 101 girls from the Bedagampana priest community before the deity was placed on the chariot in the early hours of Saturday. In the presence of Salur Mutt pontiff Shanthamallikarjunaswamy, the deity was placed on a chariot beautifully decorated with flowers and leaves. Devotees then pulled the chariot around the temple, chanting "Uge Uge Madappa" with great devotion.

Many devotees, who had arrived from different districts, offered "Hannu Javana" (bananas) to Male Mahadeshwara Swamy, praying for their wishes to be fulfilled. Cultural troupes added to the spiritual fervour by performing Puja Kunitha, Veeragase, and Mahadeshwara Guddara Kunitha. The Maha Rathotsava attracted massive crowds from various districts, including Bengaluru, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mandya, Chikkaballapura, Kolar, Mysuru, and Chamarajanagar, as well as devotees from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Despite long queues, devotees waited patiently for a late-night darshan of Mahadeshwara Swamy. The KSRTC operated over 500 buses to MM Hills from different districts to manage the heavy footfall. Mass feeding was organised late at night, while additional counters were set up to distribute laddus and issue temple receipts for various pujas. The district administration made elaborate arrangements, including crowd control, prevention of plastic use, provision of drinking water, and accommodation facilities, ensuring a smooth experience for the devotees.