A fiesta of colorful traditions and sacred rituals, the Mysore Dasara festival has transcended the confines of the state and is regarded as one of India's finest festival experiences.Held in the months of September and October, Mysore Dasara (Dussehra) festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil as manifested in the destruction of demon king Mahishasura by the Goddess Chamundeshwari.
During this ten-day extravaganza of pomp and pageantry, the Mysore city is engulfed in a riot of colors as street corners, houses, shops and important monuments are illuminated and decorated. In tune with the festive celebrations, various cultural events take place in the city that provide a glimpse of India's finest music, theatre, art and dance traditions.
The Mysore Dasara celebrations reach their acme on Vijaydashami the tenth day procession. This unique procession, rich in detail, witnesses mounted guardsmen in royal insignia and caparisoned elephants carrying the idol of goddess Chamundi in a gold howdah winding through the gaily decorated city streets. The procession begins from Mysore Palace and concludes at the Banni Mantap. The festival culminates in a torch light parade in the evening and a stunning fireworks display illuminating the night sky.The origin of Dasara goes way back to the Vijayanagar dynasty in 15th Century. The Wodeyars of Mysore continued this colourful & religious celebration under the leadership of Raja Wodeyar in the year 1610. Dasara is also known as the 'Navarathri', where nine days of worship & celebration culminate on the 10th day, known as 'Vijaydashami'. This has been declared as ‘Naada Habba’ or the State festival.Legend has it that the resident demon of Mysore, known as 'Mahishasura' was slain by the goddess in the avatar of Chamundeshwari. (Incidentally the name Mysore is derived from this demon 'Mahishasura') Therefore 'Vijaydashami' is celebrated symbolically as the win of good over evil.During Dasara, the brightly illuminated Mysore Palace and the entire city is a sight to behold.In September 1805, the wodeyars started holding a special durbar ('Royal Assembly', similar to that of the Mughal emperors) for members of the royal family, Europeans, palace officials, royal priests and important citizens. Commoners also participated in the durbar. The festival has become a tradition of the royal household and reached its zenith during the rule of Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (1902-1940).
Now the ceremonies are largely a private affair of the royal family, witnessed by a select audience. Clad in royal attire and traditional headgear, His Highness Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, the scion of the royal family, ascends the seven steps to the golden throne - which is assembled according to religious instructions - at a preordained hour and receives obeisance from the public. Court musicians then play the signature tune composed to commemorate the assumption of power by the Wodeyars. The venue for most of the festivities of the Mysore Dasara always has been the Amba Vilas Palace, which is also known as the Diwan-e-Khas.On the first day, the King, after a ceremonial bath, worships the family deity in the palace and enters the durbar to the accompaniment of sacred chants and music. He worships the navagrahas (nine sacred planets) and the sacred `kalasa',then ascends the throne at an auspicious moment. The palace lights are lit and a 21-gun salute is given as the royal insignia and sword are presented to him.According to legend, Dharmaraja, the Pandava king, used the Mysore Royal throne, which is made of gold. Kampilaraya brought it from Hastinapura to Penugonda, where it lay buried. It was rediscovered by Vidyaranya, the royal priest of the Vijayanagar Empire and subsequently presented to Raja Wodeyar in 1609. Another legend is that the Moghul Emperor Aurangazeb gifted the throne to Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar in 1700. The third legend says that it belonged to the mythological King Vikramaditya.
The King sits on this throne and receives royal guests. He accepts offerings from various temples and religious centers, which are blessed by royal priests chanting vedic verses and sprinkling holy water. In the olden days vassals, dewans, army chiefs and other royal staff would line up to offer their respects to the throne. An ensemble of musical instruments accompanied by dance begins and the blowing of conches and trumpets announces the commencement of a parade of uniformed soldiers.The decorated royal elephant arrives and showers rose petals on the assembled guests. The royal horse, equally well decorated, bends in salutation to the throne. While the assembly leaves the court after paying respects to the King, the queen and other royal ladies come to pay obeisance to the King. The queen mother and senior ladies bless him . The King leaves the durbar hall after praying to the Goddess once again and partakes lunch with the royal guests.
This ceremony is repeated on all the nine days during Navarathri,accompanied by acrobatic feats, wrestling bouts by champion wrestlers,fireworks display and other forms of entertainment, which are open to all.The King worships the Goddess Saraswathi on the seventh day and Mahisasuramardini on the eighth. On Mahanavami, the royal sword is worshipped ceremoniously and all the weapons are taken out in a procession comprising elephants, horses, camels and the royal retinue.Navaratri culminates in Grand Vijayadasami celebrations, also known as Jamboo Savari. The grandeur and magnificence of this event has popularised the Mysore Dasara world over. The earlier practice was that the king himself would lead the procession on the royal elephant back. The king would be seated upon this decorated golden howdah weighing over 750 kgs. But now the idol of goddess Chamundeshwari is placed in the golden howdah and taken in a procession.Colourful tableaux, folk dancers , music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels form a part of the procession which starts from the Mysore Palace and adjourns at Bannimantap where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped. According to a legend of the Mahabharata, banni tree was used by the Pandavas to hide their arms during their one-year period of Agnatavasa (living life incognito). Before undertaking any warfare, the kings traditionally worshipped this tree to help them emerge victorious in the war. The Dasara festivities culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with an event held on a grand note at Bannimantap called as Panjina Kavayatthu (torch-light parade). A much awaited finale to Dasara, this event attracts thousands of visitors. Exotic fire works and daredevil stunts on motorcycles by a team of the Indian army add to the excitement.