Mysuru, October 11: The famous 11-day Mysuru Dasara celebrations began on Sunday with traditional fervour, religious devotion and grandeur, as Abhinava Gavisiddeshwara Mahaswamiji, pontiff of Koppal’s Gavimath, formally inaugurated the festivities.

Celebrated as ‘Nada Habba’, or the state festival of Karnataka, Dasara, also known as ‘Sharan Navaratri’, is expected to showcase the state’s rich cultural heritage, age-old traditions and royal splendour, recreating the pomp and glory associated with the erstwhile Mysuru kingdom.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hills during the auspicious ‘Dhanur Lagna’. The pontiff offered flowers to Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru and its royal family, amid the chanting of Vedic hymns by priests, marking the ceremonial beginning of the grand celebrations.