Virajpet Ganeshotsava Highlights

Veerajendrapete (present-day Veerajpete) city holds a very important place in the cultural and historical map of Kodagu.

The Sri Basaveshwara Temple (Basavanagudi) located in the heart of this city is not only a religious center; it is a living testimony to the valor of the kings of Kodagu, the unity of the communities and the unique Gauri-Ganeshotsava tradition that has been going on for centuries. The establishment of Basavanagudi is intertwined with the historical visit of the kings of Kodagu to the British.

The king of Kodagu, Veerajendra Wodeyar, had entered into an agreement with the British army officer General Aber Crombie to fight the invasion of Tipu Sultan. The historical place where General Aber Crombie met the kings when he came to Kodagu in 1791 is the place where Basavanagudi is currently located. In memory of this important visit and as a religious symbol of the Lingayat kings who ruled Kodagu, King Veerarajendra Wodeyar established Basavanagudi at this place in 1792.

He named the city 'Veerarajendrapet' and brought traders and professionals from various areas to settle there.

After 1792, the kings entrusted the care of the temple to five prominent families of the Jain street (the Kamath, Nemirajaiah, Adike Nanjappa, Parvattiah and Panduraga Rao families).

Seeing the dilapidated condition of the temple, these five families came together and built the magnificent Sri Basaveshwara Temple that is seen today in 1935.

The Gauri festival of Veerarajpet has a very rare and beautiful tradition in the world. When Jinnamma, a Jain woman from Virajpet, passed away in 1951, the palanquin she was using was given to the Basaveshwara Temple.

Under the leadership of the then young N. Venkatesh Kamath, the tradition of installing the idol of Gauri Devi in ​​this palanquin and taking it for a procession around the city was started.

Every year on the occasion of Gauri festival, Sri Gauri Devi is decorated in a palanquin and taken for a procession through the streets of Virajpet to the accompaniment of auspicious instruments. This splendor of taking Gauri Devi on a palanquin and taking it for a procession is a special tradition that is found only in Virajpet in the entire world.

On the day after the Gauri festival, Ganesha idols are installed with great pomp in more than 22 mantaps on various streets of Virajpet, including Basavanagudi and the adjacent Sri Ganapathi Temple.

On the 11th day, all the Ganapati idols and the Gowri palanquin of Basavanagudi are taken together, taken in a procession and immersed in the Gowri lake built during the reign of the kings.

At present, High Court Advocate Rabindranath Kamath is serving as the President.

Established as Basavanagudi in 1792, this holy place is famous throughout the country for the Gowri palanquin festival and the glorious Ganeshotsava that began in 1951. This Gowri Ganesh festival, celebrated by all the citizens of Virajpet together, has preserved its cultural value and heritage till today.

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