Dasara celebrations conclude with an impressive note in DK and Udupi
Mangaluru: The 10-day festivities of Navaratri ended in undivided Dakshina Kannada district on Tuesday with the procession of the Sharada idol and Nava Durges of Mangaluru Dasara and the chariot festival of the Mangaladevi Temple, both in Mangaluru.
Vijayadashami also ushered in Aksharabhyasa (initiating letters for children) at almost all Devi temples across the coast.
Holding their children’s hands, parents under the guidance of purohits drew letters on the rice that was spread in front of them.
The day also saw people bring in the newly-grown paddy yields (kural), offering them puja and distributing the same to devotees, to mark paddy harvesting in the region.
The Mangaluru Dasara procession began in the afternoon at the Kudroli Gokarnanatha temple where the idols of Sharada Devi and Nava Durges were brought out from the hall and kept on vehicles.
As the procession started, nearly 70 tableaux trailed the main idols before going through the main roads in the city.
Thousands of people witnessed the procession, assembling on the temple premises and on the flanks of the main roads.
The procession will return to the temple early Wednesday morning when the Sharada Devi idol will be immersed in the temple pushkarini (pond).
The day began with aksharabhyasa at the Mangaladevi temple followed by distribution of kural to devotees. The utsava moorthy was ushered into the chariot (ratharohana) in the afternoon. Pili nalike (tiger dance) teams performing pili vesha on specially designed vehicles moved first, followed by the chariot as the part of the rathotsava that began at around 8 p.m.
Vijayadashami marked the culmination of the Navaratri celebrations at several Devi temples, including Kateel Durga Parameshwari, Polali Rajarajeshwari, and Bappanadu Durga Parameshwari temples.
Pushpa rathotsava (flower chariot festival) was held on Monday, Navami, at the Kollur Mookambika temple in Udupi district. Aksharabhyasa was conducted on Tuesday morning at the temple, where almost on every auspicious day, the ritual is conducted.
Navaratri celebrations came to an end at other prominent Devi temples in the district.
The Uchchila Dasara that began last year after the renovated Mahalakshmi temple underwent Brahma Kalashotsava in April last, attracted thousands of devotees on all days of the Navaratri. Several cultural programmes added to the fervour.
A procession of Nava Durges, followed by 50 tableaux along NH 66 on Tuesday from Uchchila to Kaup beach and immersion of idols in the Arabian Sea early Wednesday morning marked the culmination of the celebrations.