Mysuru: Wearing pure white clothes, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar was crowned the 27th King of Mysuru on Thursday. The ceremony took place under the Karakataka Lagna at the famed Kalyana Mantapa of Amba Vilas Palace. Over a thousand people – relatives, politicians and well wishers of the royal family turned up to witness the ceremony.
The ceremony was conducted under the guidance of palace’s ‘dharmaardhikari’ Janardhan Iyengar. Other prominent priests of the palace, Manjunath Jois and Chamundi Temple Priest Shasishekar Dixit were also present to perform the various ceremonies.
The Time Line of Yaduveer’s coronation went like this – 5:30am- Prayers were offered at the Atma Vilas Ganapathy Temple by Yaduveer Wadiyar; 8:30am- ceremonies began at the Kalyan Mantapa in Amba Vilas Palace; 9:40am- As per the plan, Yaduveer ascended the silver Bhadrasana; 9:51am- The new king was showered with water from the 7 scared rivers in India; 10: 02am- A gold plate with the name and linage of the king was tied to his forehead and ended the official coronation ceremony of the Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.
After the tying of the gold plate which had the lineage and family deities, the guests and dignitaries took part in a modified version of the ‘nazar opsodu’ ceremony where the king is given gifts on the occasion of his coronation. Yaduveer received flowers from all the dignitaries.
After the ceremony, true to his generation, Yaduveer changed out of his sherwani into a comfortable tee-shirt and Nehru jacket and addressed the media.
“The ceremony just got over, I haven’t had the time to process the experience,” Yaduveer said as he answered to questions about how he felt being crowned the King of Mysuru. The new king went on to say, “I seek the support of the people to carry on the glorious tradition of the Mysuru Wadiyar’s”.
He also spoke of wanting to travel around the state.
Two LED screens inside Kalyana Mantap and two at the premises of Kalyana Mantap were set up for the guests to watch the coronation ceremony live. Sisters and relatives of the royal family were seen taking a number of selfies with Pramoda Devi and the new scion. Yaduveer’s fiancé Thrishika Kumari was present and attracted a lot of attention.
The palace kitchens were seen preparing a large feast on the occasion, with a large number of sweets to serve the guests. It was a real royal lunch that followed the ceremony.
“I have witnessed two Coronations”
Few people have witnessed two coronations in their life time, those of Srikantadatta Wadiyar and Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar. One among them, is the royal family’s personal secretary Lakshminarayan.
He says, “I was 17 year old boy when I joined this job a personal secretary to Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. I have been integral part of the family since then. During Srikantadatta Wadiyar Coronation it was not lively as it is now. The circumstance was very much different. On 23rd September 1974, Jayanchamaraja Wadiyar died and when Navaratri celebrations started, on the first day Srikantadatta Wadiyar did not attend the programme or perform rituals as royal family was mourning. As there was not much of time and due to Vijayadashami 16 October 1974, only in the presence of family members the coronation programme was held as a family affair. Even people of this region were not in a state to celebrate it because of the demise of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar”.
He continued, “ The rituals have remained the same even today albeit with few modification. Earlier, during Pattabhisheka, rubies were showered on kings but now it is not done. So we can call it as Pattadharane and not Pattabhisheka.
Nalvadi Krishnaraja wadiyar wife Lakshmivilasa Sannidhana Sri Pratapa Kumari Ammani relatives bhargeerath Singh Rana and Chandrika Devi who had come far from Rajasthan to witness the event said, “It is an inspiring moment for us, as only few royal families in country organize coronation so grandly. Many of them restrict it as a private affair but Wadiyar family has marked the event glory.”
Sardar D N Srikantaraje Urs relieved
Sardar D N Srikantaraje Urs is a house hold name among the royals as he is the person who hands over the Pattadakatthi (sword of king) to the king during Dasara celebrations. He has been known for doing this for more than two decades. He was thrilled when he said, “I am happy that I will hand over the sword to the new king this Dasara. Last year, we all were sad when Pattadkatthi was replaced as king. But I am happy that this year we will be celebrating Dasara with our new king.”
Wishes pour in
Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, MP Pratap Simha, Revenue and District in Charge Minister V Srinivas Prasad, Information and Publicity Minister Roshan Baig, Home Minister KJ George, Energy Minister DK Shivakumar, Tourism and Higher Education Minister RV Deshpande, MLA Vasu, Lok ayukta Chief Bhashar Rao, Upa Lokayukta Subhash Adi, DC C Shika, Police Commissioner B Dayananda, SP Abhinav Khare, Former Minister HD Revanna, KSCA Secretary Brijesh Patel, President of Kanteerava Studios Vijayalakshmi Urs were present on the occasion and congratulated the new scion.
Indian golf Union past president Raian F Irani who is also closely associated with the royal family, was wearing the pendent of Gandaberunda which was gifted by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar to his father Farooq Irani.He said, “The contributions that royal family have given to the state are immense. I wish Yaduveer will carry the 400 year tradition successfully.”
State government ready to support royal family to end land disputes
Revenue and district In-charge minister V Srinivas Prasad said, “the state government is ready to settle the land disputes with royal family. We will extend our support for it under the purview of constitution.” About refusing permission to utilize the services of the elephant Balarama, he said, “ was not aware that royal family had asked for the elephant. I came to know about it through newspapers. It was late when I came to know about the issue. But forest department rules and regulations can’t be violated”.
There will be a public durbar at the Palace at 6 pm today, when the public will get a chance to greet the new king.
