Bengaluru Karaga 2039

The Bengaluru Karaga (ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಕರಗ) is the oldest festival of the city, kept by the Thigala community at the Sri Dharmaraya Swamy Temple in Thigalarapete. Its great night is the full moon of Chaitra, at the end of more than a week of rituals.

The Karaga, a tall pyramid of jasmine on a sacred pot, is Draupadi as Adishakti. A Thigala priest, dressed as the Goddess, carries it on his head without touching it with his hands, and through the night it moves through the lanes of the old city, guarded by the Veerakumaras with bare swords. On its way it visits the dargah of Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan in Cottonpet, a bond the city has kept for generations.

Lakhs of devotees line the streets until dawn, when the Karaga returns to the temple.