The grand car festival of Lord Seetalamallikarjuna Swamy of Seetalayyanagiri, situated on the Western Ghat range of Chikkamagaluru, was held with great fervour on Tuesday. Thousands of devotees took part in the fair.
After the procession idol (Utsava Moorthy) was brought to the grand chariot, the priest performed a puja to the wheels of the chariot. The devotees drew the chariot later.
During the car festival, devotees also carried the procession idols of ‘Kencharaya’, ‘Bhootappa’, ‘Uluvagilu Kencharaya’, ‘Hosapura Bhootappa’, ‘Katrimaramma’ and ‘Parivara Devate’.
The gesture of devotion was emphasized with the performance of folk art troupes on the occasion.
As per the custom, people hurled bananas towards the chariot as an offering to the deity, during the car festival.
After the car festival, the procession idol was carried in a palanquin to the temple, where the people performed aarti and paid their obeisance, followed by puja in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
The procession idol of the deity was again placed in a small chariot which was drawn in the circumambulating path of the temple.
‘Addapallakki seve’ and ‘Uddapallakki seve’ will be offered to the presiding deity during the early hours of Wednesday. ‘Okali’ and ‘Gangasthana’ will be held later.
N T Girish from Naraganahalli said that the idol of Herige Bhootappa at Seetalamallikarjuna Swamy will be taken out of the temple and placed in Shantamalleshwara Temple in Hirekolale, four days earlier to the temple fair.
“The idol will be returned to the temple on the day of the fair,” he added.
The temple was decorated with flowers and buntings. Various stalls selling eatables, toys and fancy items made brisk business on the day of grand chariot festival.
There was heavy traffic during the day, in the vicinity of the temple and traffic police were seen facilitating smooth movement of vehicles.