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Dusserah makes celestial history: It’s for 11 days in 2025
Cultural researchers are excited expectations are high that this year’s celebration will be even grander.
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Staff Reporter - Sat, 27, Sep 2025
- 02:38 EDT
- 21
Representative image / Pexels
For members of the Indian diaspora in India this season, the world-renowned Dusserah in the royal city of Mysore, in Karnataka is unmissable for its grandeur. And this year, the festivities get extended by an extra day – a rare gift from the stars.
Instead of the customary ten days, festivities in Mysore, and all of India for that matter, have stretched to eleven, marking the first such occurrence in more than four centuries.
The unusual extension arises from a calendrical quirk in the Hindu lunar system. The Panchami tithi, the fifth day of Navaratri, has appeared on two consecutive days—Sept. 26 and 27—pushing Vijayadashami to Oct. 2.
ALSO READ: Living Our Civilization Abroad: How the Diaspora Celebrates Navratri to Diwali
Astrologers have hailed the rare overlap as a sign of abundance and prosperity, and far from treating it as an irregularity, religious authorities have embraced it as divine endorsement.
Cultural scholars are calling this Dusserah historically significant. The online Star of Mysore quotes Dr. Shelvapillai Iyengar, Assistant Professor of Ancient History and Archaeology at Karnataka State Open University, as describing Mysuru’s celebration as a “living ritual that celebrates the triumph of good over evil.” He notes that while the ten-day format has held firm for centuries, the dual Panchami tithi has naturally and legitimately elongated the tradition. Government authorities, adhering strictly to the Panchanga, have formalized the schedule as an eleven-day state celebration.
He says, “Usually, it is a 10-day celebration — Dashami. This year, it will be an extra day. All the auspicious timings and ‘Muhurthas’ for Dusserah 2025 are favorable. The additional day is nothing to worry about. Instead, it will enrich the festival further. Expectations are high that this year’s celebration will be even grander.”
The atmosphere in Mysuru reflects the scale of the festivities. The city is drenched in illumination; the palace glows nightly under more than 100,000 bulbs, casting a golden hue across swelling crowds. The Jumbo Savari processions move with regal splendour, featuring decked elephants, royal guards, folk troupes, and musicians.
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