An all-Udupi affair at Dasara in Mysore

This year, the Dasara celebration will have a distinct Udupi flavour. Swami Vishveshwara Teertha of Pejawar Mutt will inaugurate the Dasara celebrations on September 28 and chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda — who is also Udupi’s MP —will flag off the Dasara procession. Mysore district in-charge minister SA Ramdas said he would visit Udupi to invite the seer to inaugurate the festival next week.

Ramdas said sub-committees to oversee the Dasara celebrations are being formed and the final list of office-bearers will be released next week.

Mysore has a long association with the temple town. There are records in the Udupi Krishna temple of Mysore Maharajas visiting Udupi during Krishna Janmashtami and Madhva Navami. The royal family has also donated gold jewellery.

Vedavyasacharya, a scholar from Udupi’s Asthamutt, said: “Almost all scions of the erstwhile Mysore royal family were devotees of Udupi Krishna. They revered the Dwaitha philosophy as propagated by 13th century philosopher Madhvacharya of Udupi as well as the Visishtadvaita philosophy propagated by Ramanujacharya of Melkote near Mysore.”

“Even today, jewels donated by the Maharajas to Lord Krishna are being used for alankara on special days and they are on display to
the public on occasions such as the Akhila Bharata Haridasa conference,” he added.