Chamundi Hill decked up for grand Dasara inauguration

The stage atop Chamundi Hill in Mysuru where the Mysuru Dasara-2026 inauguration will take place on Sunday. | Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram With preparations nearing completion, Chamundi Hill is decked up to provide a traditional start to Mysuru Dasara on Sunday, marking the beginning of the 11-day celebrations of the State festival.Abhinava Gavisiddeshwara Swami of Gavimath, Koppal, who is the chief guest, will light the traditional lamp to formally inaugurate the festivities. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, Minister in-charge of Mysuru district Yathindra Siddaramaiah and other dignitaries will be present.The seer has arrived in Mysuru and was welcomed by representatives of the district administration.A major highlight of this year’s inaugural ceremony will be the participation of more than 200 heads of various religions, invited by the State government to witness the celebrations.“We have received confirmation regarding the participation of nearly 200 religious heads in the inaugural event. Accordingly, seating arrangements are being made on the hill. Around 2,000 people can witness the inauguration, and arrangements have been made to accommodate them,” Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy said.The Chief Minister had announced during his last Dasara review meeting in Mysuru that religious heads would be invited to witness the festivities.At the Chamundeshwari Temple, preparations are under way for the special rituals to be performed on Sunday and the puja by the chief guest, the Chief Minister and other dignitaries before the inauguration. Chief priest Shashishekar Dikshit is overseeing the arrangements and rituals, which will begin in the early hours of Sunday, the first day of Navaratri. Chief Priest Shashishekar Dikshit with the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari at the temple on Chamundi Hill in Mysuru on Saturday. | Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram The idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, which will be placed in the silver chariot during the inaugural ceremony, has been readied for the ritual. The dignitaries will offer flowers to the deity and participate in the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony.The temple is being specially decorated for the occasion, with the idol inside the temple to be adorned in different forms of alankara throughout the nine days of Navaratri.“There will be Sapthamatruka alankara on the first day of Navaratri on Sunday. The Dasara inauguration will take place between 11.50 a.m. and 12.15 p.m.,” Dikshit said. Published - October 10, 2026 08:02 pm IST