A huge crowd in front of the Dharmarayaswamy temple, this is the only entrance path used by the Veerakumaras and other followers. There were people as far as the eyes could see. People were on almost top of every balcony and roof. Pic: Amoghavarsha JS
The annual Dharmarayana Karaga is scheduled to start on April 3rd, 8 pm and will go on till April 4th, 8 pm. More than 18 pallakis will be coming in from different parts of the city.
Here are the traffic diversions in place during the procession.
- The ramp in front of City Market will be closed to traffic. People going towards Avenue Road can go up to Town Hall junction, take a U-turn and at City Market, take a right turn and proceed to Avenue/SJP Road
- Vehicles coming from Briand Square towards City Market can take this route: Briand Square – Rayan Circle – Minto Circle – Makkala Koota – Shivashankar – Basappa Circle – Minerva Circle – JC Road – Town Hall on to Majestic
- Vehicles coming from South Bangalore should use: National College – Diagonal Road – Sajjan Rao Road – Minerva Circle – JC Road – Town Hall – Majestic, instead of: Gandhi Bazaar – National College – KR Road – SJP Road – Town Hall – Majestic
About Dharmarayana Karaga
The Karaga is one of the oldest festivals in Karnataka and draws lakhs of people to the Dharmarayaswamy Temple each year. The temple in Thigalarpet is the focal point of the festival.
The Vanikula Kshatriya Thigala community worship Adishakti Draupadi as their community deity. The nine-day Karaga festival is observed by them in reverence to the Goddess. They believe that Draupadi Shakti (power) brims over during the Karaga festival. The Karaga carrier is dressed as a female and is symbolic of Draupadi.
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