Arjuna (born c. 1959 – 4 December 2023) was an Asian

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

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

Golden Howdah The Golden Howdah,'ಚಿನ್ನದ ಅಂಬಾರಿ'(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. Since 2 ...

at the

Mysore Dasara Mysore Dasara is the state festival in 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 Hindu calendar m ...

. He was named after

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

, the third of the Pandava brothers from the Hindu epic

Mahabharatha The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succes ...

. Arjuna was part of a Karnataka Forest Department to tackle wild elephants across western Ghats of Karnataka and also operated in many states for capturing wild elephants. Arjuna died in combat on 4 December 2023.

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 ski ...

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 ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. 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 Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, in the 1990s. After

Drona Droṇa (, ), also referred to as Dronacharya (, ), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He is one of the primary counsellors and warriors featured ...

, 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 Nishane aane. 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 (also known as Fountain 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 'w ...

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 retainin ...

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 ...

, before being brought back to the Dasara camp and made the Nishane aane in 2001 to

Balarama Balarama (, ) 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, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana. The fir ...

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

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

musth Musth or must (from Persian, ) is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by aggressive behavior in animals, aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. It has been known in Asian elephan ...

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

from 2012 to 2019. He was succeeded by

Abhimanyu Abhimanyu (, ) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He was a young and valiant warrior of the Kuru lineage, born to Arjuna—the third Pandava brother—and Subhadra—a Yadava princess. He was also one of the few indivi ...

. Arjuna died on 4 December 2023 from injuries sustained during a capture operation in a fight with a wild male elephant which was reportedly in

Mysore Dasara

References

See also