Thousands seek divine grace for auspicious beginning

Mysore/Mysuru: With the dawn of New Year 2026, a heavy rush was witnessed at temples across the city this morning as thousands thronged the shrines to offer prayers and usher in the year on an auspicious note.

Long queues of devotees included newlyweds, youths and senior citizens, arriving early to seek blessings. The festive spirit was evident at popular tourist destinations, where holiday crowds had a vibrant start.

Sri Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hill, a major religious and tourism landmark, has been witnessing a sea of devotees since early today.

Residents of the Hill, for whom every auspicious day begins with a darshan of the Goddess, also joined the serpentine queues.

With mass Lalitha Sahasranama chanting on Jan. 2, followed by the weekend on Jan. 3 and 4, an even larger influx of devotees is expected at the Hill Temple.

The District Administration and Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority have made elaborate arrangements, including barricading and regulated ticketing, to ensure smooth darshan and effective crowd management.

Both Sri Chamundeshwari Temple and Tripurasundari Jwalamukhi Devi Temple at Uttanahalli witnessed heavy footfall, with many devotees proceeding directly to the Jwalamukhi Devi Temple after offering prayers at the hilltop shrine.

Special gems and pearls from Kerala

Devotees began queuing up as early as 6 am near Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple at Vijayanagar First Stage for the first darshan of the deity.

Temple authorities, who had earlier announced the distribution of two lakh laddus, organised separate queues for women, men, senior citizens and specially-abled devotees to facilitate orderly entry.

Queues reportedly stretched three to four kilometres from the temple premises, with devotees patiently waiting to reach the sanctum sanctorum. As a special attraction, Lord Yoganarasimhaswamy was adorned with gems and pearls sourced from Kerala.

Other temples also report rush

Similar scenes were witnessed at several other prominent temples, including Sri Lakshmi Venkataramanaswamy Temple in Vontikoppal, Sri Datta Venkateshwara Temple at Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashram, 101 Ganapathi Temple at Agrahara in Mysuru, Srikanteshwaraswamy Temple in Nanjangud, Sri Ranganathaswamy and Nimishamba Temples at Srirangapatna and Sri Male Mahadeshwaraswamy Temple atop Male Mahadeshwara Hills in Chamarajanagar.

Police had made extensive security arrangements at major temples within the city and in surrounding areas to ensure the safety of devotees and prevent any untoward incidents.

Traffic Police reported heavy movement on key roads leading to religious and cultural centres, while additional measures were taken to manage the surge in vehicular flow. Local businesses, eateries and vendors also reported brisk activity as celebratory crowds thronged markets and food stalls across the city.