Mysuru: It was a bittersweet affair at the Mysuru palace on Wednesday as the royal family began the coronation ceremony of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, as the 27th titular king of Mysuru.
The rituals began early at 5 am at the famed Kalayana Mantapa, Yaduveer performed the rituals under the guidance of the seers of the Parakala Mutt. Dressed in a sherwani and a Mysuru peta, the young prince and his adopted mother Maharani Pramoda Devi shared a light moment while the prince performed padapuja to his mother and the Parakala Mutt Seer. A number of homa’s like the Navagraha Homa, the Pavamana home, Gayathri Homa were conducted as a part of the schedule.
The queen dressed in a bright pink Mysore crepe saree was also seen sharing an emotional moment with Tripurasundari Devi, the biological mother of Yaduveer.
The ceremony on Wednesday is the beginning of a long couple of days for the prince who will be crowned on Thursday morning, May 28 between 9:35 am and 10:30 am. The coronation will be followed by a public durbar in the evening.
Amba Vilas Palace has been closed to visitors and tourists since Tuesday afternoon. The Kalyana Mantapa and the outsides of the palace have massive pandals erected to house around thousand close and important guests. The palace has been decked up to crown its new king and the elephants of the palace have also been prepared for the ceremonies.
The main seers of the Parakala Mutt, who are the guru’s of the Wadiyar dynasty, arrived at the palace at around 12:30pm to preside over the function.
Adopted in February, the coronation was scheduled to be much later and closer to Dasara. But the stars were not compliant with this plan and it was decided on May 20 that the coronation would happen on May 28.
In the evening there will be a Ganapathi and Chamundi pooje along with Rutwik nandi puja, punyaha, udaka shanthi. The last of the ceremonies for today will be the Kankana Dharane which will make Yaduveer eligible for the throne.
Since the general public is not allowed inside the Kalyana Mantapa, LED television screens are being put up side the palace to view the ceremonies tomorrow. The Parakala Mutt Seer said they have blessed Yaduveer in the same fashion as his ancestors have been blessed.
No Balarama at ceremony tomorrow
In a major move, the state government has refused to allow Dasara Elephant Balarama for the coronation of Yaduveer Srikantadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.
On Tuesday Royal family had requested the forest department to allow Balarama to be the Pattada Aane for the coronation on Thursday. The Forest officials had forwarded it to Principal Conservator for the decision. In a decisive move, the government has denied them permission, citing 2002 orders which prevents the use of captive animals for private function.
As per the rules the captive animals can be spared for government programmes like Dasara, Independence Day and Republic Day.
Confirming this DCF Karikaalan said that we had forwarded the letter to State government but the authorities had denied the request citing 2002 orders. Even during Dasara the Palace authorities had to get a special permission for the Jamboo Savari.
