Mysuru Dasara emblem MysuruDasaraSince 1610 AD
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Gaja Payana

The Dasara elephants

Weeks before the festival, a herd of elephants walks out of the forests of Nagarhole and Bandipur and into the Palace — the Gaja Payana. They are the heart of Dasara, and the lead among them will carry the goddess on the last day.

12 elephantsForest camps of Nagarhole & DubareGaja Payana 26 August
Elephants at the assembly ground before the march
Elephants at the assembly ground before the march
<em>Gaja Payana</em>
The journey

Gaja Payana

Gaja, elephant; payana, journey. The Maharajas began the tradition: the elephants chosen for Dasara would walk the whole route from their forest camps to the city, flagged off by the king himself after a puja, greeted in every village with music and food. Today the ceremonial start is the same — a puja at the Veeranahosahalli gate of Nagarhole, the first elephants garlanded and fed — but after a short ceremonial walk the herd travels to Mysuru by truck, so no animal arrives tired.

  • Flagged off at Veeranahosahalli, Nagarhole — 26 August 2026, 10:01 AM (Tula lagna)
  • Gaja Puja at the Palace on arrival — 28 August 2026, 9:52 AM
  • Return journey to the forest — 22 October 2026, 10:45 AM
Six weeks of <em>preparation</em>
At the Palace

Six weeks of preparation

Once inside the Palace grounds the elephants move onto a special diet — a high-calorie, protein-rich mix of rice, ragi, jaggery, coconut, horse gram and green fodder — to build the strength the procession needs. Every morning they are walked through the city along the procession route so that the crowds, the bands and the traffic become familiar. The lead elephant carries a sandbag howdah of steadily increasing weight until it can bear the full 750 kilograms without strain.

  • A dedicated forest-department veterinary team
  • Daily walks along the procession route
  • Weight training with a sandbag howdah
1610the tradition began
750 kghowdah weight
12elephants in 2026
22 Octreturn to the forest
The herd

Elephants of Dasara 2026

The twelve elephants selected by the Forest Department for Gaja Payana 2026, with their camps, mahouts and kavadis — as published in the Gaja Payana brochure.

MahendraSalaane (rank) elephant last year

Mahendra

Balle campMale · 42 years4,764 kg

Captured in 2018 in the Ramanagara forests. Calm, sturdy and quick — a trusted Forest Department elephant. First took part in Mysuru Dasara in 2022-23 and carried the wooden howdah at the Srirangapatna rural Dasara that year. Mahout Rajanna · Kavadi Mallikarjuna

DhananjayaNishane elephant last year

Dhananjaya

Dubare campMale · 45 years5,280 kg

Captured in 2013 at Yasalur, Hassan. Has taken part in eight Dasaras in a row and was the Nishane (standard) elephant last year — a strong contender for the howdah. Mahout Bhaskar J.C. · Kavadi Rajanna J.S.

EkalavyaThird Dasara

Ekalavya

Bheemanakatte campMale · 41 years5,800 kg

Captured in 2022 at Mudigere. The tallest of the herd; this is his third Dasara. Mahout Idayat S. · Kavadi Prasanna

Prashantha18 Dasaras

Prashantha

Dubare campMale · 54 years5,100 kg

Captured in 1993 at Karekoppa, Shivamogga. A veteran of eighteen years of Dasara duty. Mahout J.A. Chinnappa · Kavadi Chandra J.H.

GopiNaupath elephant last year

Gopi

Dubare campMale · 43 years5,150 kg

Captured in 1993 at Karekoppa, Shivamogga. Fifteen Dasaras; the Nishane elephant from 2015 to 2024 and the Naupath elephant last year. Mahout P.B. Naveen Kumar · Kavadi Shivu J.R.

SriramFifth Dasara

Sriram

Dubare campMale · 41 years4,640 kg

Captured in 2016 at Bengur, Kodagu. Five Mysuru Dasaras and the Tumakuru Dasara; selected again this year. Mahout Sari J.D. · Kavadi Ganesh

SrikantaSecond Dasara

Srikanta

Mattigodu campMale · 57 years5,860 kg

Captured in 2014 at Shanivarasanthe, Hassan. The heaviest of the herd; his second Dasara. Was on Palace pattadane duty last time. Mahout J.R. Radhakrishna · Kavadi Omkar K.

LakshmiKumki

Lakshmi

Balle campFemale · 54 years3,438 kg

A former circus elephant taken over by the Forest Department in 2015 and retrained. Steady amid noise and crowds; her third Dasara, as a kumki. Mahout Mahesh · Kavadi Madhu S.

KaveriKumki

Kaveri

Dubare campFemale · 46 years3,060 kg

Captured in February 2009 at Adinadu, Somwarpet, Kodagu. Has served as a kumki in several Dasaras. Mahout J.D. Dobhi · Kavadi Sanjan J.A.

RoopaKumki

Roopa

Doddaharave campFemale · 50 years3,500 kg

Rescued from a circus in 2016. Her second Dasara, as a kumki. Mahout Manjunath · Kavadi Manju

SugreevaSalaane elephant

Sugreeva

Dubare campMale · 44 years5,800 kg

Captured in 2016 in the Kushalnagar range. Three Dasaras; the Salaane elephant. Mahout J.G. Shankar · Kavadi Jeevan

ChaitraKumki

Chaitra

Ramapura campFemale · 55 years2,988 kg

Born in the camp. Five Dasaras as a kumki; selected again this year. Mahout Kaleem Pasha · Kavadi Prathap

The twelve elephants above are as published in the Forest Department’s Gaja Payana 2026 brochure. The elephant chosen to carry the golden howdah, and the other roles in the procession, are announced by the Forest Department after the training period; this page is updated when that list is published.

The <em>howdah elephant</em>
Choosing the captain

The howdah elephant

The elephant that carries the goddess is chosen years in advance and trained for the role over several Dasaras. The requirements are precise: a tusker of steady temperament, a broad and level back, a calm reaction to noise and fireworks, and the strength to carry three-quarters of a tonne for five kilometres at walking pace. The Forest Department names the howdah elephant for 2026 after the training period at the Palace.

  • Selected years ahead, trained over several festivals
  • Steady under fireworks and crowds
  • Reserve elephant trained in parallel
DASARA 2026
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