2 months ago
1
8.3. 2026
Tens of thousands of devotees from antithetic parts of the State witnessed the 204th Sharanabasaveshwar Rathotsava, the yearly car festival held arsenic portion of the Sharanabasaveshwara Jatra Mahotsava, successful Kalaburagi connected Sunday.
The historical rathotsava commemorates the decease day of 18th period saint and societal reformer Sharanabasaveshwar. It continues to pull devotees cutting crossed caste, creed and communal lines.
This year’s Jatra Mahotsava carried a peculiar affectional value arsenic the celebrations were held for the archetypal clip successful the lack of eighth Peetadipathi precocious Sharanabasawappa Appa whose guidance had shaped the rituals of the Jatra Mahotsava astatine the samsthan for respective decades.
Marking the continuation of the revered tradition, ninth Peetadipathi Sri Doddappa Appa, lad of the Sharanabasawappa Appa, performed the customary rituals earlier the commencement of the rathotsava.
In a profoundly symbolic moment, Sri Doddappa Appa, successful the beingness of his parent Dakshayini S. Appa, who is president of Sharanabasaveshwar Vidya Vardhak Sangha, displayed the beatified metallic Prasada Battalu (Prasada bowl) and the Linga Sajjike, a sandalwood screen utilized to sphere the ineffable Linga and traditionally associated with Sharanabasaveshwar.
He past blew the conch to awesome the commencement of the rathotsava, pursuing which devotees enthusiastically pulled the flower-bedecked temple chariot astir the sprawling temple complex.
As portion of a unsocial tradition, devotees threw bananas tied with adust dates towards the temple car arsenic it moved on the designated route. Devotees from crossed Kalaburagi territory and neighbouring States began arriving astatine the temple premises arsenic aboriginal arsenic 4 a.m.
By evening, agelong queues stretched on the main roads starring to the temple and adjacent the well-known Appa Lake, arsenic devotees, galore accompanied by their families, eagerly waited for a glimpse of the expansive chariot procession.
Many devotees from surrounding villages undertook padayatra, an inherited spiritual signifier of walking agelong distances to the temple during the rathotsava to connection prayers to Saint Sharanabasaveshwar.
A ample fig of devotees besides observed day-long fasting, breaking their accelerated lone aft partaking of the Prasada distributed by the Sharanabasaveshwara Samsthan, pursuing the ceremonial pulling of the chariot astir the temple analyzable astatine astir 6.30 p.m.
The fortnight-long Jatra Mahotsava, which begins with the rathotsava, is considered the largest spiritual congregation successful the Kalyana Karnataka region.
Since Sunday morning, respective voluntary organisations person been distributing food, fruits, juices, buttermilk and drinking h2o to devotees astatine assorted junctions and streets connecting the historical temple.
