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Mysuru Dasara (Nadahabba): the palace, the procession and how to see them
A palace drawn in light and a goddess carried in gold above the crowd
Mysuru Dasara, the Nadahabba or “state festival” of Karnataka, is ten or eleven days of royal and civic ceremony that ends on Vijayadashami with a golden howdah carried out of the palace on an elephant and a torchlit parade after dark. In 2026 it runs from 11 to 21 October, with the Jamboo Savari procession on 21 October. In 2027 it is expected from 30 September, with Vijayadashami on 9 or 10 October: Karnataka’s holiday list in November 2026 will settle the day.
Karnataka's holiday list, issued in mid-November of the previous year, gives Mahanavami and Vijayadashami; the Dasara committee chaired by the Chief Minister fixes the programme and posts it on mysoredasara.gov.in about two months ahead.
The legend
Legend says the asura Mahisha ruled this land. Hence the city's old name, Mahishuru, "the abode of Mahisha", which the British turned into Mysore.
The goddess Chamundeshwari slays him on the hilltop. The hill now bears her name, and the maharajas of Mysuru revered her for centuries.
In the 15th century the kings of Vijayanagara celebrate it in style, and the Italian traveller Niccolò de' Conti describes a grand royal festival.
The empire falls, but the Wodeyars carry the custom on: in 1610 Raja Wodeyar takes the throne and opens his own Dasara.
To this day Dasara opens on Chamundi Hill: a guest of honour showers petals on the goddess's festival image on a silver chariot.
Meaning
Since 1880
The Dasara exhibition opposite the palace was begun in 1880 by Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X to show people the new things of the day. It runs into December.
A thousand steps
A stairway of about a thousand steps, laid in 1659, climbs Chamundi Hill. Halfway up lies Nandi, Shiva's bull, carved from a single block of black granite.
Madikeri
In Madikeri priests of four Mariamma temples carry karagas, flower-decked pots, round town, and on Vijayadashami night ten mantapas of gods slaying asuras parade.
Customs
🪑 Private durbar
Each day of the festival the Wadiyar heir, in royal dress, ascends the golden throne in the palace Durbar Hall and holds a private durbar, as his forebears did.
💎 Royal jewels
On the seventh day, Kalaratri's day, jewels given by the maharajas are brought from the district treasury to adorn the goddess in the hilltop temple.
🎎 Dolls
Homes in Old Mysuru set out dolls for Dasara. The chief pair, the pattada gombe, are a bride and groom: they are worshipped and seen as a tribute to the Wadiyar kings.
🤼 Kusti
Dasara draws wrestlers from all over India to Mysuru for the kusti tournament. By tradition, bouts were staged in a palace courtyard.
Words of the festival
ನಾಡಹಬ್ಬ
Nada Habba
"the state festival": the Kannada name for Mysuru Dasara
ಮಹಾನವಮಿ
Mahanavami
the ninth day of Dasara; under the Vijayanagara kings, the whole festival
ಗೊಂಬೆ ಹಬ್ಬ
gombe habba
"doll festival": the home display of dolls at Dasara
ನಂದಿಧ್ವಜ
Nandi Dhwaja
Nandi's standard, given the first puja at the palace gate before the goddess's procession
ಚಿನ್ನದ ಸಿಂಹಾಸನ
Chinnada Simhasana
the golden throne of Mysuru's kings, under a jewelled umbrella topped by the Huma bird
How to greet
ದಸರಾ ಹಬ್ಬದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು
Dasara habbada shubhashayagalu!
Kannada for "good wishes for the Dasara festival", sent to family and friends in these days.
True or myth
❌ Myth. It goes on show only for Dasara; the rest of the year it is taken apart and kept in the palace's safe lockers.
✅ True. So the tradition goes: it stood in Hastinapura, and in 1609 the governor Srirangaraya handed it to Raja Wodeyar.
❌ Myth. Raja Wodeyar began it in 1610 at Srirangapatna; the festival moved to Mysuru with the capital in 1799.
Where to celebrate
Mysore
Ten days of state ceremony that end with a gold howdah carried out of the palace gate at a time fixed by the almanac, and a torchlit parade after dark.
Bengaluru
Mysuru is about two hours away by the fastest trains, so from Bengaluru Dasara works as a day trip for the lit palace or the torchlight parade; the procession needs a pre-dawn start.
What the ten days look like
Dasara elsewhere in India is a night of burning effigies. Mysuru’s is a different animal: a published programme, numbered seats and a royal ritual that has run, by the city’s count, since 1610.
It opens on Chamundi Hill, where a guest of honour showers petals on the festival image of the goddess Chamundeshwari on a silver chariot (in 2026 on 11 October at 11:50). From then on the palace is drawn in light every evening, from 19:00 to 22:00 in 2026, and the streets around it fill with families looking up. The Dasara Exhibition opposite the palace, begun in 1880, runs into December; the flower show, the food mela, folk stages and the kusti wrestling tournament fill the days. Inside the palace the Wadiyar heir holds a private durbar on the golden throne, which is assembled only for these days.
Vijayadashami is the day everything points at. After the Nandi Dhwaja puja at the palace gate and the pushparchane, the flower offering to the goddess at 16:10 in 2026, the lead elephant steps out with the Chinnada Ambari: a teak howdah plated with about 80 kg of gold, some 750 kg with the idol. Behind and ahead come caparisoned elephants, palace cavalry, district tableaux and folk troupes, five kilometres to Bannimantap. That night the torchlight parade, the Panjina Kavayathu, closes the festival with mounted contingents, bands and fireworks; its full-dress rehearsal runs the evening before.
Where to base yourself and where to watch
Mysuru is the festival; the question is how close to the palace you can sleep.
Mysuru itself
Rooms inside the ring road go first and are worth it only if you book months ahead; on Vijayadashami the roads around the palace and along the route close from about 11:00. Gokulam and Vontikoppal, 3–5 km north-west of the palace, keep you close but outside the closures. Come two days before Vijayadashami: a quieter evening at the lit palace, the exhibition and the flower show without the road blocks, and time to collect your physical ticket.
Free spots on procession day
Sayyaji Rao Road from K.R. Circle towards Bannimantap is open standing ground: the whole procession passes at walking pace. It fills three deep by early afternoon, so be there by 13:00 with water, as shade is scarce. The palace is lit every evening and free to watch from the surrounding streets, and the Bannimantap perimeter outside the enclosure catches the parade fireworks.
Bengaluru as a base
The fastest trains reach Mysuru in about two hours, so the lit palace or the torchlight parade work as a day trip. The procession does not: in 2025 an unreserved festival special left SMVT Bengaluru at 04:30 and reached Mysuru at 07:50, with a return at 22:55 after the parade. KSRTC also adds buses from the Mysuru Road bus station, about three hours by road.
Srirangapatna
On the road from Bengaluru, Srirangapatna is where Raja Wodeyar first held the dynasty’s Dasara in 1610; the festival moved to Mysuru with the capital in 1799. It makes a good stop on the way in.
👣 Tickets, passes and booking ahead
Almost everything at Dasara is free. Five events are ticketed, and they are sold through one channel only.
- Buy only from the official site
Start at mysoredasara.gov.in, which links to its ticketing partner (TicketGenie in 2026). The committee states there are no other counters and no agents. Sales open only about three weeks before the festival.
- What there is (2026 prices)
Gold Card from ₹6,500: one entry each to the palace, Chamundi Hill and the zoo, plus numbered seats for the procession and the torchlight parade. Procession seat in the palace forecourt from ₹3,500. Torchlight parade or its rehearsal from ₹1,500, free seating inside the enclosure.
- Collect the physical ticket
Payment gives you a voucher, which you exchange in person for the physical ticket before the event. Carry it with the same photo ID. On procession day the palace gates open at 9:30 and close at noon.
- Rooms and trains
For the final weekend in Mysuru book three to four months out; mid-festival weekday nights hold longer. Trains between Bengaluru and Mysuru open 60 days ahead and fill on the Vijayadashami weekend.
✅ On the day: crowd and etiquette
Hundreds of thousands line the route, and the day is long and hot.
- Timing — The elephant steps out only at the auspicious moment, after the pushparchane. Roads close from 11:00, so whatever your plan, be in place by early afternoon. Agree a meeting point with your group; the festival helpline in 2026 is 1077.
- Water and shade — The free stretch of the route has little shade. Carry water and a hat, and eat before you take your spot.
- The elephants — The route is barricaded and the lead elephant is escorted. Do not try to get close; the forecourt galleries and Bannimantap stands are the nearest positions.
- A ritual, not a show — The howdah carries the goddess Chamundeshwari. People fold their hands as it passes; standing quietly does the same.
Why Dasara belongs to Mysuru
By local legend the asura Mahisha ruled this land, which gave the city its old name, Mahishuru, “the abode of Mahisha”, later anglicised as Mysore. The goddess Chamundeshwari is said to have slain him on the hill that now bears her name, and the maharajas of Mysuru worshipped her for centuries.
The royal festival is older than the dynasty. The Vijayanagara kings kept it in the 15th century as Mahanavami, and the Italian traveller Niccolò de’ Conti described a grand royal festival there. When the empire fell, the Wodeyars carried the custom on.
In Old Mysuru homes the same days are gombe habba, the doll festival: shelves of dolls, with a wooden bride and groom, the pattada gombe, at the top.
❓ FAQ
When is Mysuru Dasara in 2027?
It is expected to run from 30 September 2027, with Vijayadashami and the Jamboo Savari on 9 or 10 October. Karnataka sometimes keeps Vijayadashami a day after the rest of India, so wait for the state holiday list in November 2026 and the committee’s programme before booking the procession day.
What is the Jamboo Savari?
The closing procession on Vijayadashami: the goddess Chamundeshwari rides in a golden howdah on the lead elephant from the palace to Bannimantap, about five kilometres, with elephants, cavalry, tableaux and folk troupes. In 2026 the flower offering is at 16:10 on 21 October and the procession leaves after it.
Do I need a ticket for Mysuru Dasara?
No, most of it is free, including the palace illumination and the procession route outside the ticketed galleries. Tickets are only for numbered seats (the Gold Card and the procession), the torchlight parade, its rehearsal and the drone show, sold through mysoredasara.gov.in.
What time is the Mysuru palace lit up?
Every evening of the festival, from 19:00 to 22:00 in 2026. It is free to watch from the streets around the palace.
Why is Mysuru Dasara celebrated?
By tradition it marks the victory of the goddess Chamundeshwari over the asura Mahisha, who gave Mysuru its name. As a royal festival it goes back to the Vijayanagara kings, and the Wodeyars have kept it since 1610.