Dasara elephants with their mahouts in front of the Jayamarthanda Gate of the Amba Vilas Palace.

| Photo Credit: File Photo

The Gajapayana, the traditional journey of Dasara elephants from the forests of Nagarahole to Mysuru, will be held on Wednesday. The elephants selected for the first batch will assemble at Veeranahosahalli in Hunsur taluk, where they will receive a traditional welcome before beginning their journey to Mysuru.The arrival of the jumbos marks the beginning of preparations for the Mysuru Dasara festivities scheduled to be held in October.Nine elephants from various elephant camps have been selected for the first batch. They are Dhananjaya, Mahendra, Ekalavya, Prashantha, Gopi, Srirama, Sugriva, Lakshmi and Kaveri. Six of them are from Dubare camp, two from Balle camp and one from Mathigodu camp.Abhimanyu, the celebrated tusker that carried the 750-kg golden howdah for six consecutive years, will not be part of this year’s Dasara elephant squad. The Forest Department has decided to retire the veteran tusker after he attained the age of 60.Abhimanyu will be remembered for his majestic presence and the grace and precision with which he carried the iconic golden howdah during the Jamboo Savari. His retirement has left a vacancy in the coveted role of carrying the howdah.The successor to Abhimanyu is yet to be finalised. The Forest Department has groomed four to five tuskers who are considered capable of taking over the responsibility. The successor is likely to be selected during the rehearsals for the Jamboo Savari.Among the elephants in the first batch, Prashantha and Lakshmi are the oldest at 54 years, while Ekalavya and Srirama, both 41, are the youngest.Elephants Roopa, Chaitra and Srikanta will arrive in the second batch along with reserve elephants Bheema and Harsha. Bheema, aged 21, is a young and attractive tusker from Mathigodu camp.Srikanta, aged 57, is the oldest member of the overall Dasara elephant squad. Chaitra and Roopa are 55 and 50 years old respectively, while Harsha is 51.Deputy Conservator of Forests Prabhu Gowda said the successor to Abhimanyu would be finalised during the Jamboo Savari rehearsals. “There are tuskers who can take over the role. We shall finalise the successor after considering various factors,” he said. Published - August 22, 2026 07:09 pm IST