Udupi: Uchila Dasara to begin October 11, CM to inaugurate Women’s Dasara

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Oct 10, 2026: The fifth edition of Uchila Dasara 2026, organised by the Dakshina Kannada Mogaveera Mahajana Sangha at the Sri Mahalakshmi Temple in Uchila, will be held from October 11 to 21 at the Shalini Dr G. Shankar Auditorium on the temple premises.

The festival is being organised with the support of the Karnataka government’s Department of Kannada and Culture and devotees.

Addressing a press conference at the Uchila Mogaveera Bhavan on Thursday, G. Shankar, the driving force behind Uchila Dasara, said that idols of the Navadurga deities and Goddess Sharada would be installed and worshipped according to traditional rituals over the 11-day festival.

As part of the celebrations, decorative lighting has been arranged from Padubidri to the Kaup coastline, with the temple premises also illuminated. The inauguration of the lighting arrangements will take place on October 10 at 6.30 pm.

The idols of the Navadurga deities and Goddess Sharada will be installed at 9 am on October 11 under the guidance of temple tantris Kukikatte Raghavendra Tantri and chief priest Raghavendra Upadhyaya.

K.S. Basavanthappa, Minister for Muzrai, Ports, Fisheries and Inland Water Transport, will inaugurate the Dasara celebrations at 10.30 am.

The Women’s Dasara will be held on October 12 at 3 pm, and Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is scheduled to inaugurate the event, Shankar said.

Special parking arrangements have been made for devotees attending the festival. Vehicles arriving from Mangaluru can be parked at the Saraswati School grounds and the premises of the Uchila Sri Mahalingeshwara Temple. Vehicles coming from Udupi can be parked at the ground adjacent to Mahalakshmi English Medium School.

Dakshina Kannada Mogaveera Mahajana Sangha president Jaya C. Kotian, Uchila Dasara Committee president Vinaya Karkera, Mohan Bengre, Giridhar Suvarna and others were present at the press conference.