Mysuru Dasara: The march of a tradition

It is that time of the year when the city of Mysuru comes alive in different hues and the air reverberates with the spirit of Dasara which will unfold to a sea of humanity showcasing the cultural diversity of State.

A tradition steeped in history, Mysuru Dasara – inaugurated on October 3 and which will conclude on October 12 this year – is also a tapestry of different traditions that characterizes Karnataka and emphasizes its unique identity.

From the inauguration of the festivities at Sri Chamundeshwari temple atop Chamundi Hills to the classical dance and music programmes in front of the illuminated palaces, Mysuru will witness a slew of cultural events and is set to be a one-stop destination for connoisseurs of fine arts as also tourists who will throng to the city in large numbers during the next 10 days.

Celebrations at Bisnaga

A celebration whose origins have a hoary past, Dasara in Mysuru, is a continuation of a tradition which was started by the rulers of Vijayanagara empire (founded 1336 CE) as evident in the detailed descriptions of the ‘’great feast’’ of ‘’Bisnaga’’ (for Vijayanagara) written by medieval travellers from Persia and Portugal.

After the decline of the Vijayanagar empire post the battle of Talikota in 1565 CE, Raja Wadiyar, one of the feudatories of the Vijayanagara rulers, ascended the throne in Srirangapatana in 1610 CE and declared that Navaratri be celebrated on a grand scale.

Thus the Wadiyars of Mysuru inherited this tradition and carried forward the cultural legacy of the Vijayanagara rulers which has come to be known as the Nada Habba or State Festival in the present times.

A pan-Indian festival with metaphysical connotations of victory of good over evil, Dasara in Mysuru is equated with the vanquishing of demon Mahishasura by goddess Chamundeshwari.

Flower show at Kuppanna Park is integral to Mysuru Dasara and is a crowd puller.
| Photo Credit:
SRIRAM MA

After a drought year

Being held after a low-key celebrations in 2023 owing to unprecedented drought, Mysuru Dasara promises to be a grand and enchanting event this year and the State Government is harnessing the festival as a fulcrum to promote tourism in a big way.

The city roads have been lit up like never before and a slew of events have been lined up to regale the public. This includes Yuva Dasara, a programme featuring the latest from the world of Sandalwood and Bollywood, heritage walk, heritage tong ride, Dasara sports, film festival, folk dance and music, plays, poets conference, food festival or Aahara Mela, Dasara exhibition, flower show, yoga Dasara, display of dolls, classical music and dance in front of the illuminated palace and a lot more spread over multiple venues across the city.

The Dasara elephants led by Abhimanyu during the routine training in Mysuru to familiarise the jumbos of the procession route.
| Photo Credit:
M A Sriram

Parade of elephants

The heart of Dasara lies in its mesmerizing procession, when caparisoned elephants led by Abhimanyu will march through the city on October 12 in a parade that will showcase not only the cultural diversity of the State but highlight the flagship programmes of the Government of the day through various tableaus.

And the elephants occupy the pride of place in the procession – popularly known as the Jamboo Savari – and are synonymous with Mysuru Dasara. In all 14 elephants led by tusker Abhimanyu are camping in Mysuru in preparation for the 10-day festival since the last week of August.

Abhimanyu is the lead elephant of Dasara jumbo squad and this tall tusker carries the 750-kilo golden howdah during the famed Jamboo Savari.
| Photo Credit:
M A Sriram

These denizens from the jungle camps have carved out a slice of heart of thousands of people who make a beeline to catch a glimpse of these gentle giants during their stay in the city.

Their daily march as part of the rehearsal, from the palace along the actual procession route, commences from the Balarama Gate of the palace and a pilot vehicle accompanies them underlining the importance attached to these elephants who have a pivotal role in the iconic procession.

While elephants have been symbols of royalty besides being used in wars since the ancient times, they are also integral to Indian art and religious events as evident in the carvings and sculptures across thousands of temples across the country.

There are references by the medieval travellers to the Vajra Mushti Kalaga that used to be held during the Navaratri celebrations at Vijayanagara, and is conducted even in present times during Dasara in Mysuru.
| Photo Credit:
SRIRAM MA

As travellers saw it

This slice of an ancient tradition – of the use of elephants in Dasara – was also historically documented by travellers like Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz – both from Portugal – visited Vijayanagara empire. Paes who visited Vijayanagara between 1520-22 CE describes what could be inferred as the Vijayadashmi procession.

The narrative of Domingo Paes is more elaborate and merits repetition as one can draw several parallels in the way the Dasara is celebrated in Mysuru. Though the institution of monarchy has been abolished in the present times, the procession and other events has similarities.

His account of wrestling bouts is nothing but the Vajramushti Kalaga that is conducted by the Wadiyars in their private Dasara. The Department of Archaeology, Museums and Herirage has published a work titled Mysuru Dasara, The State Festival authored by Dr. R. Gopal and Dr. La.Na. Swamy where certain accounts of foreign travellers have been cited.

 “….their wrestling does not seem to be like ours, but there are blows given so severe as to break teeth and disfigure face…’’, writes Domingo Paes. ‘’When these days of festival are past, the king hold a review of all his forces….’’, says Domingo Paes after describing the ‘’feast’’ complete with various rituals that takes place for 9 days.

Commenting on the procession the medieval traveler writes that the ‘’captains array their troops, each one in his place according to the rank….the cavalry were mounted on horses fully caparisoned…’’ The description of the horses and cavalry is elaborate – given that the medieval traveller himself was a horse trader – after which he refers to the elephants.

‘’….the elephants in the same way are covered with caparison of velvet and gold with fringes, and rich clothes of many colours, and with bells that that the earth resounds. On their heads are painted faces of giants and other kinds of great beass. On the back of each one of the elephants are three or four men, dressed in their quilted tunics, and armed with shields and javelins and they were arrayed as if for a foray…’’ as cited in The Vijayanagar Empire: Chronices of Paes and Nuniz

Fernano Nuniz who was in Vijayanagara during 1535-37, refers to the king of ‘’Bisnaga’’ and notes that his stable had 400 elephants. On the nine days of the ‘’feast’’, nine horses and nine elephants of the king, covered with flowers and with rich trappings appear before him, says the traveller and goes on to describe other events of the day.

‘’The king has a thousand wrestlers for these feasts who wrestle but not in our manner, for they strike and wound each with the two circlets with points….’’, recalls Nuniz.

A palace painting depicting the Dasara procession during the regime of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar which extended from 1902-1940.
| Photo Credit:
SRIRAM MA

After Vijayanagar

After the fall of Vijayanagara many feudatories declared independence and held on to small territories to chart their own course in history of which Raja Wadiyar was one of them. He assumed kingship at Srirangapatana in 1610 CE and ordained that Navaratri festivals be celebrated on a grand scale.

In this, the Wadiyars inherited most of the practices including that of the grand Vijayadashmi procession complete with procession comprising the tableaus, horses and elephants signalling the continuation of a tradition that is in vogue even in present times in Mysuru.

Dasara reached its apogee in modern times during the regime of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar (1902-1940) and the murals at the Mysuru palace capture the grandeur of the celebrations. A slice of the royal grandeur and practices like conducting of durbar, ascending the throne will also unfold within the Amba Vilas palace during the private Dasara of the Wadiyars.

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the titular king and the current Mysuru MP, will follow the time-honoured practices associated with the festival signalling the continuation of a tradition that began in 1610 CE. However, it will be a private affair of the Wadiyars witnessed by invitees only as the State event has supplanted the royal celebrations after the abolition of the privy purse in 1971.

The KR Circle which is a major landmark in Mysuru, illuminated for Dasara.
| Photo Credit:
SRIRAM MA

A people’s event

But it is the Government-funded Nada Habba which is open to all and has emerged as peoples’ event that rings in the festival zing lending credence to the phrase that Mysuru Dasara is not an event to be witnessed but an experience to be savoured.