On Monday, during a rescue mission at Yasalur in the Hassan district, a wild elephant murdered Arjuna, a well-known Dasara jumbo, aged 65.
In the Dasara procession in Mysuru, Arjuna had the honour of carrying the 750-kg golden howdah containing the idol of the ruling goddess, Chamundeshwari, eight times.
Arjuna and five other kumki elephants were part of the effort to capture a wild elephant, according to forest officials.
The mahouts and the elephants were forced to run when the wild tusker charged at the rescue crew. But Arjuna was killed by the rogue elephant’s goring before the authorities could shoot the tranquillizer.
From 2012 till 2019, Arjuna led the elephants in a magnificent inning before retiring at the age of 60. The pachyderm was housed at the Balle elephant camp in Nagarhole National Park. It had been taken in 1968 from the Kakanakote forest in the Western Ghats.
Arjuna departed from Balle camp on November 23 in order to participate in the rescue effort.
For at least 22 years, Arjuna had participated in the renowned Dasara procession in Mysuru, serving as both the lead elephant and the “Nishane” who carried the flag bearing the royal insignia.
Arjuna, who was renowned for both his grandeur and his short fuse, was able to unseat Balarama as the lead elephant thanks to his improved temperament over time. Due to regulations prohibiting the use of elephants older than 60 years old for physically demanding or stressful jobs, Arjuna was replaced with the tusker Abhimanyu.
CM mourns the passing of a beloved elephant
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his condolences for Arjuna’s passing, praising his “majestic gait” in front of thousands of people at the historic Dasara celebrations as “unforgettable”.
Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy expressed his tremendous sadness over Arjuna’s passing while lamenting the elephant’s passing.
Additionally, he asked the forest department to make sure that, when conducting rescue operations, the animals are just as safe as the cops.
An essential component of the Mysore Dasara Festival is the elephant. On the day of Vijayadashami, the elephants are the focal point of the Mysore Dasara procession. The Golden Howdah (Chinnada Ambari), containing the Goddess Chamundeshwari, is carried by the lead elephant. The Golden Howdah is composed entirely of gold and weighs 750 kg.The elephant trainers typically use the Khedda operation to capture the Dasara elephants. The elephants thus captured were examined for strength, character, and personality in an open area during the Wodeyar era. Some of the elements taken into consideration for selection included walking styles, susceptibilities to seduction, and facial charm. Following that, the selected elephants had festival training. It’s reported that the king would supervise the instruction. Adopted juvenile elephants are occasionally trained for dasara as well.
The elephants spend the remaining months of the year in their training camps in the nearby National Parks. These elephants are looked after by about 240 mahouts and kavadis, who also form close relationships with them. The Kannada names for the elephants are typically those of historical personalities and Hindu deities. For a total of thirty years, the elephants Drona and Balarama bore the idol of the goddess Chamundeshwari, which was kept in the Golden Howdah. After Drona was electrocuted in 1998 at Nagarahole National Park, Balarama assumed leadership.
After thirteen years, Balarama has been granted retirement. The 52-year-old Arjuna took Balarama’s position and carried the Golden Howdah on October 24, 2012, in Mysore during the Dasara 2012 Jamboo Sawari parade. Bharatha, Kanthi, Gayathri, Kokila, Sri Rama, Abhimanyu, Gajendra, Biligiriranga, Vikram, Varalakshmi, and Sarojini are the other elephants taking part in the event.
Actors and campaigners have been putting more and more pressure on the Dasara procession to discontinue its contentious use of elephants. Over the years, there have been a number of horrifying tragedies that have claimed the lives of both procession elephants and their “mahouts,” guardians.
An elephant was seen wobbling in anguish in 2018 after footage from the elephants’ training area was leaked. The footage was hailed as “heartbreaking” by the international press, which also detailed the elephants’ two months of “rigorous training” before they can participate in the procession.