Mahendra, Dhananjaya, Ekalavya, Sugreeva and Prashanth are being assessed as possible successors to Abhimanyu, who carried the golden howdah for six consecutive years before being retired from active Dasara duties because of age. The Forest Department will compare their performance across several stages before selecting the lead elephant for the procession.
The next exercise was to train the elephants to carry a wooden replica of the golden ambari along with its cushion and other equipment, which together weigh about 1,000 kilograms. The replica was mounted on Mahendra and the session began on the palace premises, but heavy rain interrupted the work. Officials postponed the exercise after the cushion and ropes became wet.
Deputy Conservator of Forests I.B. Prabhu Gowda said the earlier line-training and weight-training stages had been completed. He said the replica-carrying phase would resume on another day and that each of the five tuskers would take part on separate days.
The selection will depend on the elephants’ performance during the training and other factors considered by the department. The delayed session therefore changes the immediate training schedule, but officials say the comparative assessment of all five candidates will continue.