SSC
The Karaga festival of Bengaluru, one of the oldest festivals of Karnataka, is celebrated in honour of:
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Answer: Option C — Draupadi, worshipped as a form of Shakti
Detailed Solution
The Bengaluru Karaga is one of the oldest and most important festivals of Karnataka. It is celebrated in honour of Draupadi, the heroine of the Mahabharata, who is worshipped as Adi Shakti, the primeval mother goddess, and as an ideal of womanhood.
The Karaga is organised by the Thigala community, who traditionally worked as gardeners and farmers in and around Bengaluru. They regard themselves as descendants of the Veerakumaras, warriors who, according to legend, were created by Draupadi to fight the demon Tripurasura. The festival is held at the Sri Dharmaraya Swamy temple in the Thigalarapete area of old Bengaluru, and it is celebrated over nine to eleven days in the month of Chaitra (March-April), ending on the full moon night (Chaitra Purnima).
The highlight of the festival is the Karaga procession on the full moon night. The Karaga is a tall, cone-shaped structure decorated with jasmine flowers, which represents the goddess. It is carried on the head by the priest (the Karaga bearer) of the Thigala community, who is dressed as a woman, wearing a sari, bangles and a mangalsutra, as he represents Draupadi. He carries the Karaga through the streets of old Bengaluru without touching it with his hands, balancing it on his head, accompanied by Veerakumaras holding swords. The procession continues through the night until dawn. A notable feature of the procession is its visit to the dargah of the Sufi saint Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan, a symbol of communal harmony in the city.
Karaga festivals are also held in other parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu, Draupadi is also honoured in the Thimithi (fire-walking) festival.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Lord Venkateswara is honoured at the Brahmotsavam of Tirumala.
- ✗Lord Murugan is honoured at Thaipusam.
- ✗Lord Krishna is honoured at Janmashtami.
Quick tip
Remember: The Bengaluru Karaga = Draupadi (Adi Shakti), the Thigala community, the Dharmaraya Swamy temple and Chaitra Purnima.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.