Mysore Dasara

What it is

Mysore Dasara is the state festival of Karnataka, in southern India. It lasts ten days. The first nine nights are Navaratri and the last day is Vijayadashami, which falls on the tenth day of the Hindu month Ashvina and usually lands in September or October. The festival is about good defeating evil. Tradition says the goddess Chamundeshwari, a form of Durga, killed the demon Mahishasura, and that the city of Mysuru takes its name from that demon. In Mysuru the festival also honours warriors and the state's soldiers, and the Wadiyar royal family plays a leading part.

Origins and history

The exact origin is not known. Festivities of this kind were held by Vijayanagara kings as early as the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when the festival was called Mahanavami. Carvings on the outer wall of the Hazara Rama temple at Hampi show it. An Italian traveller, Niccolò de' Conti, wrote about the festival as a religious and martial occasion with royal backing. After Vijayanagara fell to the Deccan Sultanates, these celebrations stopped under Muslim rulers. The Wodeyars then formed a kingdom in the south of the old empire and carried the festival on. Raja Wodeyar I began the Mysore tradition in mid September 1610 at Srirangapatna.

Lights and durbar

During Dasara the Mysore Palace is lit every evening with nearly 100,000 bulbs, from seven to ten at night, on all ten days. Dancers, musicians and other performers from Karnataka appear in front of the lit building. A special durbar, or royal assembly, is held in the palace. Krishnaraja Wodeyar III began that practice in 1805, and royal family members, invited guests, officials and members of the public attended. After Srikanta Wadiyar died in December 2013, the 2014 Dasara was held with the Pattada Katti, the royal sword, placed on the golden throne. Since 2015 Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar has led the celebrations and the durbar.

The final procession

On Vijayadashami the Dasara procession goes through the streets of Mysore. It is known locally as Jumboo Savari. The name comes from British rule in the state; the older name was Jumbi Savari, meaning the going to the banni tree. An idol of the goddess Chamundeshwari sits on a golden mantapa, a platform holding about 750 kilograms of gold, carried on a decorated elephant. The royal couple and invited guests worship the idol before it sets out. Tableaux, dance troupes, bands, elephants, horses and camels join in. The route starts at the palace and ends at Bannimantap, where the banni tree is worshipped. The night closes with Panjina Kavayatthu, a torchlight parade.

Today and change

The Dasara exhibition opposite the palace began in 1880 under Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X to show the people of Mysore new developments. It opens during Dasara and runs to December, run now by the Karnataka Exhibition Authority. Concerts of music and dance fill halls across the city for all ten days, with artists invited from all over India, and a wrestling competition, Kusti Spardhe, draws wrestlers from around the country. The procession also draws criticism. Campaigners want the elephants to be dropped, and elephants and their handlers have died in incidents. Petitions against inviting the writer Banu Mushtaq to open the 2025 celebrations were dismissed by the courts.

How Mysore Dasara is kept

The festival runs ten days in Mysuru. The first nine nights are Navaratri. Each evening the palace is lit and cultural programmes are held in front of it. A special durbar, a royal assembly, is held in the palace. On the ninth day, Mahanavami, the royal sword is worshipped and carried in a procession with elephants, camels and horses. On the tenth day, Vijayadashami, the royal couple and invited guests worship the idol of Chamundeshwari, and the great procession leaves the palace with decorated elephants, horses, camels, tableaux and bands. It reaches Bannimantap, where the banni tree is worshipped, and a torchlight parade closes the night.

When and where

Dasara falls on the tenth day of the Hindu month Ashvina, which usually means September or October. The ten days begin with the nine nights of Navaratri. The festival follows the Hindu calendar, so the Gregorian dates shift from year to year. The old Mysore tradition was started in mid September 1610.

Mysore Dasara is kept across Karnataka, and its home is the city of Mysuru, where the palace, the durbar and the procession are centred. The tradition began at Srirangapatna under Raja Wodeyar I. Earlier festivities of this kind were held in the Vijayanagara Empire, and carvings at Hampi record them.

What Mysore Dasara means

The festival stands for good defeating evil. For those who keep it, it recalls the day Chamundeshwari killed Mahishasura, and the city's own name is tied to that story. In Mysuru the meaning is also martial and civic: the rituals honour warriors and the state that fights for the good, and the sword, the weapons, the horses and the elephants are shown and worshipped. For the royal house it is a duty and a public role; for the people of Karnataka it is the state's own festival.

Days Mysore Dasara is marked

Questions people ask about Mysore Dasara

See also

Thrissur PooramA grand Kerala temple gathering with elephant pageantry, percussion, and fireworksDashainA fifteen-day festival of family gatherings, blessings, and feasts across NepalGoluAn autumn festival display of stepped dolls and figurines in South Indian homesIkatA resist-dyeing craft from Southeast Asia, where yarns are tied and dyed before weaving

Good reading and sources

• Emotional start to private DasaraThe Hindu, Article
• Banu Mushtaq: Why is India's International Booker Prize winner at the centre of a political row?BBC, Article
• Emotional start to private DasaraThe Hindu, Article
• Banu Mushtaq: Why is India's International Booker Prize winner at the centre of a political row?BBC, Article

• Mysore Dasara on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.