Mysuru, 4 September

The Forest Department has given 60-year-old veteran Dasara elephant Abhimanyu permission to take part in the 2026 Mysuru Dasara celebrations, allowing the famed pachyderm to participate in the Jamboo Savari as ‘Nishane Ane’, despite rules requiring elephants to retire at the age of 60. Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy announced the decision. 

Earlier in the day, Dasara elephant Srikanta had been selected as Pattada Aane (Royal Elephant) while tusker Ekalavya had been selected as Nishane Ane (Ceremonial Lead Elephant) for the rituals conducted by the Mysore Royal Family at the Palace during Navarathri, per DCF (Wildlife) Dr. IB Prabhu Gowda.

Among the first batch of nine Dasara elephants that marched to Mysuru Palace from Nagarahole Forest, Srikanta emerged as the heaviest in the first batch, weighing 5,770 kg, followed by Ekalavya at 5,610 kg.

The final decision of which elephant leads the procession rests with a member of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, and is expected to come on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, multilingual film actor and choreographer Prabhudeva has been officially invited to inaugurate the Yuva Dasara 2026.

Navarathri is being celebrated from 11 to 21 October this year.