Tens of thousands of devotees from different parts of the State witnessed the 204th Sharanabasaveshwar Rathotsava, the annual car festival held as part of the Sharanabasaveshwara Jatra Mahotsava, in Kalaburagi on Sunday.

The historic rathotsava commemorates the death anniversary of 18th century saint and social reformer Sharanabasaveshwar. It continues to attract devotees cutting across caste, creed and communal lines.

This year’s Jatra Mahotsava carried a special emotional significance as the celebrations were held for the first time in the absence of eighth Peetadipathi late Sharanabasawappa Appa whose guidance had shaped the rituals of the Jatra Mahotsava at the samsthan for several decades.

Marking the continuation of the revered tradition, ninth Peetadipathi Sri Doddappa Appa, son of the Sharanabasawappa Appa, performed the customary rituals before the commencement of the rathotsava.

In a deeply symbolic moment, Sri Doddappa Appa, in the presence of his mother Dakshayini S. Appa, who is president of Sharanabasaveshwar Vidya Vardhak Sangha, displayed the holy silver Prasada Battalu (Prasada bowl) and the Linga Sajjike, a sandalwood cover used to preserve the sacred Linga and traditionally associated with Sharanabasaveshwar.

He then blew the conch to signal the start of the rathotsava, following which devotees enthusiastically pulled the flower-bedecked temple chariot around the sprawling temple complex.

As part of a unique tradition, devotees threw bananas tied with dry dates towards the temple car as it moved along the designated route. Devotees from across Kalaburagi district and neighbouring States began arriving at the temple premises as early as 4 a.m.

By evening, long queues stretched along the main roads leading to the temple and near the well-known Appa Lake, as devotees, many accompanied by their families, eagerly waited for a glimpse of the grand chariot procession.

Many devotees from surrounding villages undertook padayatra, an inherited spiritual practice of walking long distances to the temple during the rathotsava to offer prayers to Saint Sharanabasaveshwar.

A large number of devotees also observed day-long fasting, breaking their fast only after partaking of the Prasada distributed by the Sharanabasaveshwara Samsthan, following the ceremonial pulling of the chariot around the temple complex at about 6.30 p.m.

The fortnight-long Jatra Mahotsava, which begins with the rathotsava, is considered the largest religious congregation in the Kalyana Karnataka region.

Since Sunday morning, several voluntary organisations have been distributing food, fruits, juices, buttermilk and drinking water to devotees at various junctions and streets connecting the historic temple.