According to Hindu mythology, it commemorates the day the goddess Chamundeshwari (Durga) slew the demon Mahishasura.

The Mysuru tradition celebrates the warriors and the state fighting for the good during this festival, ritually worshipping and displaying the state sword, weapons, elephants, horses, along with the goddess in her warrior form (predominantly) as well as the avatar of Vishnu, Rama.

[8][9] The Italian traveller Niccolò de' Conti described the festival's intensity and importance as a grandeur religious and martial event with royal support.

The celebrations hosted athletic competitions, singing and dancing, fireworks, a pageantry military parade and charitable giving to the public.

[10][11] After the fall of the Vijayanagar to Deccan Sultanates, these Hindu celebrations came to an end under Muslim rulers.

[14][15][16] But since his accession to the throne in 2015, Maharaja Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar have been holding the Dasara celebration and durbar.

[19] On Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as " jumboo Savari ") is held on the streets of Mysore city.

The main attraction of this procession is the idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari which is placed on a golden mantapa (which is around 750 kilograms of gold) on the top of a decorated elephant.

Colourful tableaux, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels form a part of the procession which starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantap where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped.

According to a legend of the Mahabharata, banni tree was used by the Pandavas to hide their weapons during their one-year period of Agnatavasa (living life incognito).

[17] The Dasara festivities would culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with an event held in the grounds at Bannimantap called as Panjina Kavayatthu (torch-light parade).

The Dasara procession has faced increasing pressure from activists and campaigners to end its controversial use of elephants.

International press labelled the video "heartbreaking", and reported on how the elephants must undergo two months of "rigorous training" in order to perform in the procession.