The Vijayanagars reigned supreme in the Deccan Plateau from 1336 until the Battle of Talikota, which put an end to its glory in January 1565. A group of united Islamic kingdoms of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and others, under the banner called the Deccan Sultanate brought down the empire to ruins, particularly the capital city of Hampi. The Vijayanagaras however persisted for a few more years; they moved to the south and disintegrated into smaller fragments. The vassals of the Vijayanagars further broke the Vijaynagar kingdom into many independent smaller kingdoms. 

 

One such kingdom was the Mysuru Wodeyars. They initially ruled from Srirangapatna and later on moved to Mysuru.  

The Wodeyars were anointed from the year 1399 as vassals of the Vijayanagar Dynasty from Srirangapatna. In the year 1610, Raja Wodeyar-I defeated the viceroy of Vijayanagars, Sriranga Raya, son of Tirumala Raya and husband of Alamelamma. He then took control of Srirangapatna establishing himself as the king and thus started the Wodeyar lineage. 

To commemorate his victory with pomp and glory, Raja Wodeyar-I started a festival and named it 'Nadahabba' (festival of the region) at Srirangapatna. It was organised on the lines of the festivals the Vijayanagars celebrated at Hampi. The Dasara at Hampi of the Vijayanagar kingdom was a spectacular one, the festivities went on for three days. When the Vijayanagars defeated the Oriya kings, Dasara that year was spectacular. On a raised platform called (Dibba) the ruling kings along with dignitaries, visitors and guests would be seated and watch the display of the army marching past them, interspersed with wrestling bouts. Rituals in accordance with the Hindu Puranas honouring the goddess Mahishasura Mardini-Durga, Shakti and the favourite goddess of the land Goddess "Chamundeshwari"-were held. 

These are recorded in inscriptions. Apart from that, three foreign travellers were witness to these events. Niccold de Conti, an Italian wrote about the celebrations in the year 1420 in his records. This was during the reign of Devaraya-II. Abd-al-Razzaq from Persia described the pomp and glory of the festivities in his chronicles. Domingo Paez visited the Vijayanagara emperor Krishna Deva Raya and wrote about the magnificence of the festival.

Tirumala Raya, the father of Sriranga Raya, the Viceroy of the Vijayanagar dynasty passed away leaving behind his wife Alamelamma. She owned precious palace jewels and had access to some documents the Wodeyars wanted. Since Alamelamma was a widow, she would not wear any jewellery. But she would decorate the Srirangapatna temple deity Ranganatha Swamy with jewels each week and take it back the next day. The Wodeyar soldiers were ordered to seize the documents and jewels from her. Alamelamma, being a strong, pious and principled woman, jumped into the Cauvery with most of the jewellery and documents. She cursed the Wodeyars: "May Talakadu be deluged in sand, May Malangi become a whirlpool and may the Mysuru Kings never beget children."

It is believed that this prophecy has come true, until the current generation. The present titular head of the Mysuru Royals Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamraja Wodeyar and his wife Trishika Kumari Devi became parents to a son in December 2017. 

Talakadu, a village of temples drowns in sand every year. Temples are regularly excavated from the wind-blown sand. Malangi, another adjacent village, sees many whirlpools and the river Kaveri has also changed course. The lineage has constantly adopted heirs--till today. 

Srirangapatnam’s first Wodeyar Dasara was held from a Banyan tree at Puragiri (on the outskirts of Srirangapatna) to the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangapatna in all pomp and glory. The Goddess Chamundeshwari idol was atop a decorated elephant. The festival was not held for 10 days. Raja Wodeyar-I wanted to call off these festivities as he had lost his son. The celebrations were held, but they were sombre. This was the first Dasara held close to Mysuru in 1610. Though the procession was just 2 miles, it marked the beginning of the Mysuru Dasara.  

The Wodeyars were confined to Srirangapatna till 1799, until Tipu Sultan was killed in the 4th Anglo-Mysore war. From  1761 to 1799 they were under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Dasara festivities were allowed during this period under the strict supervision of Tipu. Under his watchful eye, it was seen that they never became popular with the public. After Tipu’s death, the Wodeyar were installed as a puppet monarchy under the British rule from 1799 to 1831 and then they moved to Mysuru. They built a palace of wood during this period, and Dasara celebrations became a huge affair. From 1831 to 1881, they ruled from Mysuru as a titular monarchy under the British. They were an absolute monarch between 1881 to 1947 ruling from Mysuru but under the British rule. The old wooden palace which was ravaged by fire was rebuilt and the structure stands strong to this day. 

With India becoming independent in 1947, the Wodeyars were considered as a Constitutional Monarchy till 1950. After that, India became a Republic, the Wodeyars lost the privy purse and today, they are considered a titular monarchy. 

Dasara became a state festival and it was also aimed at drawing in tourism. Today, the Wodeyar family just participates in the festivities. They live in one part of the Mysuru palace and many sections of the magnificent building are open to the public. The state tourism department charges a fee from the visitors. 

The palace draws great crowds from India and even all over the world, especially during the 10-day festival of Dasara. The palace is lit up with 95,000 bulbs for three hours during Dasara. Festivities, cultural programs, exhibitions, sports, games, processions happen through this time. The city of Mysuru is decked up to the hilt. The hospitality industry makes a killing. During normal days, the palace is lit up at dusk for half an hour. On Mondays, the palace is closed to the public. The palace reportedly draws the second highest crowds in India, after the Taj Mahal at Agra. 

 

 

Mysuru draws its name from Mahishasura, the giant demon who controlled and ruled this town. Goddess Chamundeshwari the Shakti form Devi wrestled with this giant for nine days and slayed him.  On the tenth day, everyone celebrates the victory. These 10 days are celebrated as Dasara at Mysuru. 

Goddess Chamundeshwari has a temple on a hillock in Mysuru. This was built by the Wodeyars. The Dasara procession starts from here. An idol of the Chamundeshwari goddess adorns the decorated elephant top in a silver howdah (a decorated canopy) and is taken in the Dasara procession across the city’s main streets. On the 10th day, the procession ends at a Banni (Shami) tree at Bannimantap grounds paying respect to the Pandavas of Mahabharat who had hid their weapons in this Shami tree during their exile. The ninth day called the Navmi is dedicated to worshipping arms, ammunition, vehicles and other equipment. On this day, in the pooja by the Wodeyars, a statue of Alamelamma is included. The priests at the pooja wear a mask covering their faces in guilt, respect, repentance and redemption. It is said the Wodeyars in the palace offer prayers to a statue of Alamellama each day.

People celebrate the festival at their homes with equal delight. Dasara is celebrated at Madikeri in Kodagu, Sringeri in Malnad region (Shardha Devi Temple), Bengaluru and many other cities, towns and villages across Karnataka. States across India celebrate Dasara in their own way. 

Dasara is all about conquering the enemies inside you for a blissful living.

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