Banni Mantapa
This is the fourth part of the series. Click here for Part 1 Part 2 Part 3.
A pall of gloom hung over the palace of Mysore. The royal enclave was dark, even though it was the eve of the annual festival of Navaratri. The palace now stood at Puragiri, inside the fort of Mysore. Around seventy years ago, the grandfather of Raja I Wodeyar had built the Mysore fort and moved the royal court there. Earlier the kings of Mysore had ruled out of a small estate at the foot of the Chamundi Hill.
The year was 1610. For years Mysore had remained a vassal to the powerful Vijayanagara Empire. After the Battle of Talikota, Vijayanagara went into decline and Mysore asserted it's independence. They would continue to acknowledge Vijayanagara as a power, sometimes paying tribute to the viceroy of Vijayanagara, who ruled from the island temple town of Srirangapatna, a few kilometres to the northeast of Mysore. In 1610, Thirumala Raya, the viceroy died and Raja Wodeyar decided that the time had come to break the bonds with Vijayanagara and become truly independent. Gathering a force he rode into Srirangapatna and took the town in his control. Then he turned downstream along the Cauvery to Talakadu, where Thirumala Raya's widow was encamped. He demanded the she surrender the royal jewels of Srirangapatna to him, but she refused and taking the jewels leapt into the Cauvery, after uttering a curse. "May Talakadu turn to sand, Malingi turn into a whirlpool and may the kings of Mysore, never have any children". Raja Wodeyar may have inwardly laughed when he heard of the curse. According to some accounts however, Alamelamma, the widow who cursed him, survived the Cauvery's waters and Raja tried to pacify her, but in vain. He even tried to return the one piece of jewelry that she had left him, a studded nose ring. Later, the Wodeyars in a bid to rid themselves of the curse consecrated a temple to Alamelamma within the royal palace; the temple survives to this day and in it, the deity of Alamelamma is adorned with the very nose ring left to spite Raja Wodeyar.
In any event, after the conquest of Srirangapatna, Mysore had broken the Vijayanagara Empire's southern stronghold and was now the only power in the region. Raja decided now to show his supremacy by celebrating Navaratri, which was traditionally celebrated with great pomp at the Vijayanagara capital. As the city prepared for the festival, disaster struck suddenly. Narasaraja, the crown prince died of a sudden disease. Alamelamma's curse must have echoed in the ears of the royal family then. Raja Wodeyar did not have any other kids, although Narasaraja left behind a son, Chamaraja, seven years old (difficult keep track of all the Chamaraja's of Mysore). There were other probable claimants to the throne. Raja Wodeyar had two younger brothers, Devaraja and another Chamaraja, although both of them did not have any sons at that time.
But the immediate problem of the royal family was the question of celebrating the festival. Raja consulted with the royal priests and deliberated late into the night. They decided that the festival should go on, even if there was a death in the royal family, a decision which is followed to this day. So, Mysore was decked up and on the day of Vijayadashami, the tenth day of Dussehra, Chamundeshwari, the deity of Chamundi Hill, the slayer of Mahishasura, was placed on an elephant and the royal family accompanied the deity in a procession that set out from the palace of the Wodeyars to a shami tree, or as it is known in Kannada, a banni tree, where they gave offerings to the tree. This tradition has continued now for more than four hundred years; even today although the Wodeyars are kings only in name every year the Dussehra procession is a grand event attended by tourists from all over the world.
The tradition of the Dussehra procession itself seems to be an amalgam of several different traditions. On the one hand, Dussehra is the date connected with the ten day battle between Rama and Ravana, culminating in the killing of Ravana on Vijayadashami. It is also connected with the legend of Durga killing the Asura, Mahishasura on Ashtami, two days before Vijayadashami. The legend of Mahishasura is an important part of Shaktism, occuring in the opening part of the prime Shakta text, the Devi Mahatmya, which is itself embedded in the larger Markandeya Purana. The legend of Mahishasura also occurs in the Mahabharata; here too, it is connected to the sage Markandeya, who narrates the story. In the Mahabharata however, it is Skanda, the son of Shiva, and not Durga, who slays Mahishasura. Interestingly, the Mahabharata mentions in a few places, a southern people called the Mahishakas. This had prompted some historians and scholars to date the area around Mysore to the times of the epic. The last legend connected with the Dussehra procession is connected to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. It is on the day of Vijayadashami that Arjuna, the middle Pandava, retrieved his weapons from a shami tree in which the brothers had hid the weapons at the start of the thirteenth year of their exile. Hence, the kings of old worshipped the shami or banni tree. Raja Wodeyar was continuing these traditions to honour the gods, although the family deity of the Wodeyars themselves was Lord Lakshmi Narasimha of Devarayana Durga.
Thus it is, that the terrible curse of Talakadu came to be connected to the Dussehra procession to the Banni Mantapa. Just two years after the first Dussehra procession carried out by Raja Wodeyar, a second son was born to him in the year he turned fifty. This son was named (no, not Chamaraja) Raja as well and would grow up to sit on the Mysore throne. So, Raja I Wodeyar probably spent the last few years of his life and reign thinking the curse had not really worked. If that were the case, unfortunately, he would not entirely be right in his reckoning.
Click here for Part 5.
A pall of gloom hung over the palace of Mysore. The royal enclave was dark, even though it was the eve of the annual festival of Navaratri. The palace now stood at Puragiri, inside the fort of Mysore. Around seventy years ago, the grandfather of Raja I Wodeyar had built the Mysore fort and moved the royal court there. Earlier the kings of Mysore had ruled out of a small estate at the foot of the Chamundi Hill.
The year was 1610. For years Mysore had remained a vassal to the powerful Vijayanagara Empire. After the Battle of Talikota, Vijayanagara went into decline and Mysore asserted it's independence. They would continue to acknowledge Vijayanagara as a power, sometimes paying tribute to the viceroy of Vijayanagara, who ruled from the island temple town of Srirangapatna, a few kilometres to the northeast of Mysore. In 1610, Thirumala Raya, the viceroy died and Raja Wodeyar decided that the time had come to break the bonds with Vijayanagara and become truly independent. Gathering a force he rode into Srirangapatna and took the town in his control. Then he turned downstream along the Cauvery to Talakadu, where Thirumala Raya's widow was encamped. He demanded the she surrender the royal jewels of Srirangapatna to him, but she refused and taking the jewels leapt into the Cauvery, after uttering a curse. "May Talakadu turn to sand, Malingi turn into a whirlpool and may the kings of Mysore, never have any children". Raja Wodeyar may have inwardly laughed when he heard of the curse. According to some accounts however, Alamelamma, the widow who cursed him, survived the Cauvery's waters and Raja tried to pacify her, but in vain. He even tried to return the one piece of jewelry that she had left him, a studded nose ring. Later, the Wodeyars in a bid to rid themselves of the curse consecrated a temple to Alamelamma within the royal palace; the temple survives to this day and in it, the deity of Alamelamma is adorned with the very nose ring left to spite Raja Wodeyar.
In any event, after the conquest of Srirangapatna, Mysore had broken the Vijayanagara Empire's southern stronghold and was now the only power in the region. Raja decided now to show his supremacy by celebrating Navaratri, which was traditionally celebrated with great pomp at the Vijayanagara capital. As the city prepared for the festival, disaster struck suddenly. Narasaraja, the crown prince died of a sudden disease. Alamelamma's curse must have echoed in the ears of the royal family then. Raja Wodeyar did not have any other kids, although Narasaraja left behind a son, Chamaraja, seven years old (difficult keep track of all the Chamaraja's of Mysore). There were other probable claimants to the throne. Raja Wodeyar had two younger brothers, Devaraja and another Chamaraja, although both of them did not have any sons at that time.
But the immediate problem of the royal family was the question of celebrating the festival. Raja consulted with the royal priests and deliberated late into the night. They decided that the festival should go on, even if there was a death in the royal family, a decision which is followed to this day. So, Mysore was decked up and on the day of Vijayadashami, the tenth day of Dussehra, Chamundeshwari, the deity of Chamundi Hill, the slayer of Mahishasura, was placed on an elephant and the royal family accompanied the deity in a procession that set out from the palace of the Wodeyars to a shami tree, or as it is known in Kannada, a banni tree, where they gave offerings to the tree. This tradition has continued now for more than four hundred years; even today although the Wodeyars are kings only in name every year the Dussehra procession is a grand event attended by tourists from all over the world.
The tradition of the Dussehra procession itself seems to be an amalgam of several different traditions. On the one hand, Dussehra is the date connected with the ten day battle between Rama and Ravana, culminating in the killing of Ravana on Vijayadashami. It is also connected with the legend of Durga killing the Asura, Mahishasura on Ashtami, two days before Vijayadashami. The legend of Mahishasura is an important part of Shaktism, occuring in the opening part of the prime Shakta text, the Devi Mahatmya, which is itself embedded in the larger Markandeya Purana. The legend of Mahishasura also occurs in the Mahabharata; here too, it is connected to the sage Markandeya, who narrates the story. In the Mahabharata however, it is Skanda, the son of Shiva, and not Durga, who slays Mahishasura. Interestingly, the Mahabharata mentions in a few places, a southern people called the Mahishakas. This had prompted some historians and scholars to date the area around Mysore to the times of the epic. The last legend connected with the Dussehra procession is connected to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. It is on the day of Vijayadashami that Arjuna, the middle Pandava, retrieved his weapons from a shami tree in which the brothers had hid the weapons at the start of the thirteenth year of their exile. Hence, the kings of old worshipped the shami or banni tree. Raja Wodeyar was continuing these traditions to honour the gods, although the family deity of the Wodeyars themselves was Lord Lakshmi Narasimha of Devarayana Durga.
Thus it is, that the terrible curse of Talakadu came to be connected to the Dussehra procession to the Banni Mantapa. Just two years after the first Dussehra procession carried out by Raja Wodeyar, a second son was born to him in the year he turned fifty. This son was named (no, not Chamaraja) Raja as well and would grow up to sit on the Mysore throne. So, Raja I Wodeyar probably spent the last few years of his life and reign thinking the curse had not really worked. If that were the case, unfortunately, he would not entirely be right in his reckoning.
Click here for Part 5.
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