Mysore, September 30, 2013: The golden throne was brought out from the Mysore palace strongroom on Sunday and readied for Dasara.

A piece of priceless heritage, it will be used for conducting the ‘khas durbar’ (private durbar) by Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar of the erstwhile royal family during the Navaratri festival.

For people visiting Mysore it is the only opportunity to catch a glimpse of the throne as it is dismantled and secured in the strongroom after the festivities.

The assembling of the throne — including the main seat, the umbrella and the series of steps leading to the seat — on Sunday was accompanied by special rituals supervised by a group of priests. After this, a curtain was drawn to mask the throne.

The throne will be on display for the public from October 5 to 13.

The origin of the throne is shrouded in mystery. Though historians believe that it was a gift by the Mughals, a legend links it to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. According to the legend, the throne lay buried in Penugonda, now in Andhra Pradesh, and was retrieved by Harihara-I, one of the founders of the Vijayanagara Empire, following sage Vidyaranya’s instructions. After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, the throne passed on to their governor Srirangaraya at Srirangapatana, who handed it to Raja Wadiyar in 1610. The throne has been with the Wadiyar family since then but for a brief interlude when Mysore was ruled by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

Source: The Hindu, September 30, 2013