JOIN USDevotees in large numbers descended on the Chamundi Hill on account of the last Ashada Friday puja mahotsav, in the city.
Like the previous three Fridays, beginning from July 4, the puja rituals began during the early hours, at 3.30 am, with ‘rudrabhisheka’, ‘panchamrita abhisheka’ and ‘sahasrarchane’.
The temple was opened at 8.30 am and ‘mahamangalarati’ was performed at 9.30 am. Before closing the temple, ‘mahamangalarati’ was performed again at 8.30 pm.
The temple was open till 10.30 pm for the convenience of the devotees who came from neighbouring districts like Chamarajanagar, Mandya, Hassan, Kodagu and surrounding regions.
The diamond studded idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari was decorated as ‘Simhavahini’ with a ‘trishul’ (trident) in her hand. The temple was decorated with flowers like marigold, chrysanthemum, Mysore Mallige, etc, sponsored by Jeevan Kumar of Rajkamal theatre.
Businessman T Saitsh had organised mass feeding for the week, with a menu of rice bath, tomato bath, rice and curry, curds and chutney.
He claimed to have fed thousands of devotees from morning till evening hours.
The dignitaries who paid obeisance to the Goddess included MLA H D Revanna and his family members and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council Puttanna.
Freak mishap
Unlike previous years, the concluding week of Ashada Friday puta mahotsava atop Chamundi Hill, witnessed a freak mishap involving two KSRTC buses. However, barring a passenger who suffered minor injuries, no one was hurt.
According to K R Traffic police, the mishap occurred near the mantapa junction (the historical mantapa with stairs, a few yards ahead of the defunct toll gate atop the hill), when the two buses brushed past each other.
A rear view mirror of a bus was damaged, while a passenger inside the bus suffered bruises as he banged against the seat due to the sudden application of brakes.
The passenger was treated as an outpatient, a policeman added.