Mysuru Dasara 2026 formally began on Sunday with religious ceremonies at the Chamundeshwari temple and the Ambavilas Palace, as Karnataka leaders used the state festival to highlight social harmony while a legislator raised concerns about water, roads and lake restoration around the Chamundi Hills area.
Koppal Gavisiddheshwara Swamiji inaugurated the celebrations at Chamundi Hill, where Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, district in-charge minister Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah, ministers and other public representatives offered special prayers to Chamundeshwari Devi. More than 200 religious leaders from different faiths attended the inauguration, according to the report by Prajavani.
Speaking at the event, Gavisiddheshwara Swamiji described Mysuru as the cultural soul of Karnataka and praised it as a city of learning, spiritual institutions, cleanliness and discipline. He also acknowledged the workers and others whose contribution remains largely unseen behind the festival’s public spectacle. He said Dasara had evolved from a royal celebration into a festival of the wider public and gained international recognition.
Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi said religious leaders from different communities had been invited to the festival. District in-charge minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah described Dasara as a festival that brings people together and conveys social harmony. He also referred to the Swamiji’s work relating to water service and environmental protection.
The event also brought a direct infrastructure demand from J.T. Dev Gowda, who urged the chief minister to address the shortage of basic facilities in Mysuru’s outer areas. He specifically called for water supply for residents of the Chamundeshwari constituency, road improvements and the filling of lakes to protect people in the area. The remarks placed civic infrastructure alongside the cultural programme at the centre of the opening-day proceedings.
At the palace, royal family member and Member of Parliament Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar conducted his 12th private durbar in the Ambavilas Palace durbar courtyard. The palace’s Navaratri rituals began at 5.30 am under the leadership of Pramoda Devi Wadiyar. Between 6 am and 7 am, a lion figure was attached to the throne and the related consecration ritual was performed.
During the inauguration, the chief minister said he had come to pray at the Chamundeshwari shrine rather than to claim credit for inaugurating the festival. He said he had lit a lamp on behalf of Kannada-speaking people and prayed that the lamp of Kannada and its aspirations would continue to burn.
The opening ceremony included the singing of Vande Mataram for the first time, followed later by the state anthem. A Nandi flag brought for the पूजा ceremony was reported to have broken while preparations were under way at Chamundi Hill. The report said two Nandi flags had been brought for the ritual.
The event was attended by ministers, legislators, Members of Parliament, senior officials, the regional commissioner, the deputy commissioner, the Zilla Panchayat chief executive officer and the city police commissioner. Information on tickets and festival-related services has been made available through the official Mysuru Dasara website.
