Private Dasara rituals conclude at noon

Mysuru: The private Dasara festival hosted by the Mysuru royal family, which has a history of over four centuries, concluded at the residential wing of the Mysuru Palace here on Saturday.The ‘Khas Durbar' (private durbar) and other rituals associated with the private Dasara festival came to an end with scion of Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Wadiyar performing Shami puja to the Banni tree at the Sri Bhuvaneshwari Temple in the Mysuru Palace premises. The rituals began at 9.45am and concluded around noon.Yaduveer held a symbolic Vijaya Yatra to mark Vijayadashami, which is the 10th day of the Dasara festival. Royal elephants, royal horses, and royal cows were also brought to the temple. Yaduveer, attired in traditional dress, arrived at the temple in a motor vehicle instead of using a silver chariot and performed pujas.After performing puja to the Banni tree, Yaduveer also performed pujas to weapons in the place. Yaduveer placed the royal sword in the palanquin, which was taken to the palace from the temple, signifying the Vijaya Yatra.Earlier, hundreds of members of the royal family and their guests witnessed the ‘Vajra Musti Kalaga', which was a tradition carried as part of the private Dasara celebrations. This was the tenth year that Yaduveer led the Dasara celebrations.