Mysuru is all decked up for the 2026 Dassara (Dussehra) celebrations and elephant Prashantha will carry the 750 kg golden howdah for the first time on Wednesday as Mysuru’s 11-day Dussehra celebrations culminate in the Jamboo Savari procession on Vijayadashami, which marks the victory of good over evil.
The 54-year-old elephant will bear the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, the city’s presiding deity, accompanied by a contingent of caparisoned elephants. Thousands are expected along the approximately five-kilometre route from Amba Vilas Palace to Bannimantapa. The howdah is said to have a wooden core covered with 80 kg of gold.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar will perform Nandi Dhwaja pooja at the palace’s Balarama gate between 1.36 pm and 1.56 pm, during the auspicious Makara Lagna.Later, Shivakumar and other dignitaries, including royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, will shower flowers on the goddess’s idol and flag off the elephant procession between 4.10 pm and 4.35 pm, during Meena Lagna. Twenty-one cannon shots will greet Prashantha as he approaches the ceremonial dais.
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Dhananjaya has been designated the emergency reserve elephant. Abhimanyu will serve as the Nishane elephant, while Kaveri and Roopa will accompany Prashantha as Kumki, or trained support elephants. Gopi will be the Naupat elephant.
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Cultural troupes and tableaux will showcase Karnataka’s regional traditions and heritage. Displays representing government programmes and social themes will also feature, alongside tableaux from all three wings of the armed forces.
Police have arranged security and crowd management along the route, where spectators are expected to gather hours before the procession begins.
Inside the palace, Wadiyar will continue the royal traditions with a Vijaya Yatra to the Bhuvaneshwari Devi temple and special worship of the Shami tree. The celebrations will also include Vajramushti Kalaga, a traditional contest between Jetti wrestlers using knuckle-dusters.
On Tuesday, Wadiyar performed Ayudha Pooja, worshipping the erstwhile royal family’s weapons, vehicles and animals. Throughout Navaratri, he also conducted the private durbar, ascending the golden throne amid Vedic chants.
Photo Credit: PTI
Palace illuminations, decorated streets and cultural performances have drawn visitors throughout the festival. Food and flower shows, Yuva Dussehra, the Dussehra Exhibition, drone displays and an airshow were among this year’s attractions.
The festivities will close with a torchlight parade at Bannimantapa grounds on Wednesday evening, with Governor Sudha Yadav expected as chief guest.
Celebrated as Karnataka’s Nada Habba, or state festival, Dussehra draws on traditions inherited by the Wadiyars from the Vijayanagar empire. Raja Wadiyar I began the dynasty’s celebrations in 1610. Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was the last Mysuru ruler to ride in the howdah. The procession once carried the ruler in the howdah; today, the goddess’s idol occupies that place.
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