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The Mysuru Dasara: A grand celebration of traditions, heritage and glory


The grandeur of the Mysuru Dasara has successfully captured the reminiscence of India’s rich cultural and civilizational heritage. The 10-day Mysuru Dasara celebration is one of those few Indian celebrations which has reached a global audience, attracting millions of tourists from around the world making it one of India’s most extravagantly celebrated festivals.


The annual Mysuru Dasara centres around the ten days from Pratipada to Dashami in the Shukla Paksha of the month of Ashwin, as per the Hindu calendar, which goes on for next nine days and before reaching a splendid end on Vijayadashmi, the 10th day of the festival.


However, behind all these grandeur, celebration, lights and the colours, the Mysuru Dasara celebrations have a long history that glorifies the triumph of truth and virtue over evil.


The History:

The city of Mysuru, which served as the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore between 1399 and 1956 is a shortened form of Mahishasurana Uru, which translates to the town to which the Buffalo demon -Mahishasura lived.


According to Hindu mythology, the wicked buffalo demon Mahishasura declared war against the gods. However, the gods found that they could not fight the demon as he was blessed with a boon that had granted him that no man or god could ever kill him. To bring an end to Mahishasura’s terror, the gods decided to invoke Chamundeshwari, the warrior goddess who is also referred to as Durga, who charged into battle on a tiger. After nine whole days of battling the demon, the goddess finally slew him on the tenth day – Vijayadashami.


As the legend goes, Vijayadashami denotes the victory of good over evil and was the day when the Hindu Goddess Chamundeshwari killed the demon Mahishasura.


To mark this symbolic victory of good over evil, the city of Mysuru has been holding grand Dussehra celebrations for over four centuries, possibly more. The history of Dasara celebrations in Mysuru goes back to as far back as the 15th century. Italian explorer and merchant Niccoli de Conti, who had visited Vijayanagara in the early 1400s, mentions the greatness of Dussehra celebrations.


As the Vijayanagara Empire weakened before disintegrating completely and the Deccan Sultanate grew stronger, the celebrations ceased for a while.


Read More at https://www.opindia.com/2019/10/the-mysuru-dasara-a-grand-celebration-of-traditions-heritage-and-glory/

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