2 days ago
Dasara festival 2025 to be celebrated over a period of 11 days
This year's Dasara festival is scheduled to be celebrated over a period of eleven days.
Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysore royal family, in a statement here on Saturday, sought to make it clear that this year's eleven-day Dasara celebration was not unprecedented, but in keeping with traditional observances based on the lunar calendar.
Though the festival is typically observed over a period of nine days, there have been several instances in the past when the celebrations have lasted either Ashtaratri (eight nights) nine days, Navaratri (nine nights) ten days, or Dasharatri (ten nights)eleven days'.
'The calendar (Panchanga) followed by the Mysuru palace for all festivals, including Dasara, is based on the lunar calendar. Variations in the duration of the festival arise due to astronomical factors – specifically the movement of the moon and the Sun – which determine the alignment of the lunar days/dates,' the statement said.
Dasara had been celebrated over eleven days in 1920, 1929, 1953, 1962, 1980, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2015 and 2016, said Ms. Wadiyar.
