The 11-day Mysuru Dasara festivities began on Sunday, 11 October 2026, atop Chamundi Hills, with Abhinava Gavisiddeshwara Swami of Gavi Mutt, Koppal, lighting the traditional lamp, The Hindu reported.
Quick Facts
| Festival | Mysuru Dasara 2026, 11 days |
| Inauguration | Sunday, 11 October, at the Chamundeshwari temple on Chamundi Hills |
| Inaugurated by | Abhinava Gavisiddeshwara Swami of Gavi Mutt, Koppal |
| Present | Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and other dignitaries |
| Seers attending | Over 200, for the first time |
The Ceremony
The seer lit the lamp and showered flowers on the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, placed in a flower-decked silver chariot. The inauguration opens a series of events including the flower show, citywide illumination, a Dasara sports meet, cultural programmes with the lit-up Mysuru palace as a backdrop, a food festival, a book fair and traditional wrestling bouts.
What the Seer Said
The seer said Dasara, once a royal festival, has become a celebration of the people and the land. He said he did not consider himself good enough to inaugurate it, but had come “to pray for good rains and a good harvest, and for the happiness of the people”.
He called for a society built on values and ethics rather than caste, recalling Basavanna’s 12th-century message that work is worship. He also tied the festival to the Wadiyar dynasty’s history and stressed agriculture: “However advanced technology may become, we cannot download rice and sambar. We depend on the crops grown by farmers.”
He urged the protection of rivers such as the Cauvery, the Krishna and the Tungabhadra: “We can import many things, but we cannot import water.”
The Tradition
The seer also recalled the Mysuru royal family’s role in developing the region, and educationist Harekal Hajabba, who built a school with his earnings from selling fruit.
Featured image: Mysore Palace illuminated during Dasara, October 2014 (file photo). Photo by V N GUPTA, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.