The Sampadak Express News Desk
Prashantha has been selected to carry the golden howdah in this year’s Mysuru Dasara Vijayadashami procession from the Mysuru Palace to the Bannimantap Parade Grounds, following weeks of training and trials, according to The Hindu’s archives.
The selection extends a tradition that continued even after the Mysuru maharaja ceased riding in the howdah in 1969. Today, the howdah bears a bronze idol of the goddess Chamundeshwari. While the idol weighs no more than 10 kg, the golden howdah itself weighs about 750 kg, remaining substantial because it was built to seat a king.
The road to selection begins with the Gajapayana in August, when the Dasara elephants are brought from the forests of Nagarahole to Mysuru. Once in the city, they train on the actual route, marching five kilometres twice daily between the palace and Bannimantap to familiarise themselves with the terrain, crowds and noise.
Trial runs use a wooden replica of the howdah and progressively heavier loads to prepare the animals for the ceremonial weight. In one such exercise, the elephant Mahendra carried nearly 850 kg. Training loads can approach about 1,000 kg to simulate the full burden on procession day, archival accounts note.
During the third round of the trial exercise, Mahendra halted and would not proceed, narrowing the contenders. Four elephants — Dhananjaya, Sugreeva, Ekalavya and Prashantha — continued through the drills, with Prashantha ultimately chosen on Vijayadashami to bear the real howdah in the Jamboo Savari.
The howdah’s occupant has changed over the decades. Where the maharaja once sat, the caparisoned elephant now carries the idol of Chamundeshwari in the same regal seat, preserving the ceremonial spectacle that is central to the Mysuru Dasara procession.
Dasara’s relationship with its elephants extends beyond the pageantry to the care and honour accorded to them during and after service. The Hindu’s archives record the passing of some of the festival’s most storied tuskers. Drona died in 1997 after accidentally touching a high-tension wire while reaching for a branch in the forest. Balarama, who drew a large following and has his own Wikipedia entry, died at his camp in 2023 at the age of 67. Later that year, Arjuna was killed in a fight with a wild tusker; at his funeral, his mahout, Vinod, was seen attempting to rouse him. A three-round gun salute was fired — an honour once reserved for royalty — underscoring the esteem in which the State holds its Dasara elephants.
With Prashantha now designated the howdah bearer, the core ritual of the Mysuru Dasara — the palace-to-Bannimantap procession led by the gilded seat — continues in its historic form.
