The world-famous Dhanu Yatra here ended on Thursday night with an open stage pandal playing death of king Kansa at the hands of lords Krishna and Balaram.
The mighty king finally collapsed on the resplendent pandal of his Ranga Shabha marking the end of the 11-day Dhanu Yatra, the biggest open air theatre of the world. Kansa, after hearing a voice from the heaven about his death and the killer, had taken all precautions to save his life from child Krishna.
He killed all the eight children of his sister Devaki. But his death was pre-ordained. On the invitation of Kansa, two brothers, Krishna and Balaram, had come to Mathura Nagari (Bargarh) for the Dhanu Yatra. Kansa was sure that he would kill the duo as he was unaware of their divine power and relied more on his muscle power.
He fought with them, and was killed. lord Krishna’s incarnation was meant to destroy all the evil forces with the killing of Kansa. Citizens of Mathura heaved a sigh of relief after the demon kings death. King Ugresan reoccupied the throne. “Even if the yatra shows the same event every year, yet we feel it to be totally anew. The experience of the yatra is different and Krishna Bhakti is totally unique,” said some audience.
Among others Secretaries of various departments paid their visit during the yatra but Ministers and politicians skipped due to code of conduct for the panchayat polls.