Arjuna (born c. 1960) is an Asian

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

who, from 2012 to 2019 has been the lead elephant and the carrier of the

Golden Howdah The Golden Howdah (elephant seat or Chinnada Ambari in Kannada) is a howdah, the carrier mounted on the leading elephant during the Jamboo Savari (Elephant Procession) of the famous Mysore Dasara. It is the cynosure of all eyes during the famo ...

at the

Mysore Dasara Mysore Dasara is the ''Nadahabba'' (state festival) of the state of Karnataka in India. It is a 10-day festival, starting with nine nights called Navaratri and the last day being Vijayadashami. The festival is observed on the tenth day in the ...

. He was named after

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

, the third of the Pandava brothers from the Hindu epic

Mahabharatha The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruks ...

Mysore Dasara

Arjuna was captured in 1968 in the

Khedda A khedda (or ''Kheddah'') or the Khedda system was a stockade trap for the capture of a full herd of elephants that was used in India; other methods were also used to capture single elephants. The elephants were driven into the stockade by sk ...

operations from the forests of

Kakanakote {{coord, 11, 53, 55, N, 76, 12, 10, E, display=title Kakanakote is situated at a distance of 73 km from Mysore in Karnataka state, India. It is a thick forest of the Western Ghats, and a famous place where a large number of wild elephants c ...

in the Western Ghats of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. After he was tamed, he was made a regular at the camps that featured processions during the festival of Dasara in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

, in the 1990s. After

Drona Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...

, then the carrier, fell ill prior to the Dasara festivities, Arjuna was made the carrier of the 750-kg Howdah that houses an idol of a Hindu deity Chamundeshwari, for a year, when the former was made the ''Nishan''. That year, before the festivities began, he wavered and charged at the crowd, as the helicopter hovering above raining flower petals on the howdah came low. Eventually, he calmed down to complete the task. The following years, he was made the ''Nishan'' to follow Drona. In 1996, when Arjuna and Bahadur, another Dasara elephant, were taken to

Karanji Lake Karanji Lake is a lake located in the city of Mysore in the state of Karnataka, India. The lake is surrounded by a nature park consisting of a butterfly park and a walk-through aviary. This aviary is the biggest 'walk-through aviary' in India. ...

for bathing, Bahadur's

mahout A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...

Annaiah fell and was trampled upon. It was reported as an accident, but Arjun was blamed upon, for already having been known for his bad temper. He was immediately taken "off-duty" and was confined to the village Balle, at the

Nagarhole National Park Nagarahole National Park is a national park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district in Karnataka, India. This park was declared the 37th Tiger Reserve of India in 1999. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats Nil ...

, before being brought back to the Dasara camp and made the ''Nishan'' in 2001 to

Balarama Balarama (Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Balad ...

, which he remained till 2011. On course of selection of the carrier for festivities in 2012, Arjuna became the leading contender after he beat Balarama in the rehearsals of carrying the howdah, for five kilometers between

Mysore Palace The Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is a historical palace and a royal residence (house). It is located in Mysore, Karnataka. It used to be the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. Th ...

and Bannimantap, by 45 minutes, despite going through periods of

musth Musth or must (from Persian, )''The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus: American edition'', published 1996 by Oxford University Press; p. 984 is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by aggressive behavior and accompanied by ...

at the time. His choice as the carrier was confirmed by the organizers in October 2012. Arjuna was carrying the

from 2012 to 2019 (7years). Now his name was dropped over the government order on retiring elephants above 60 years of age and services of such jumbos could be used in any rigorous activities. Arjuna has rested from the duty of carrying the

and has been succeeded b
Abhimanyu.
ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arjuna (Elephant) Individual elephants Culture of Mysore Elephants in Indian culture

Mysore Dasara

See also

References