The University of Mysore is a historic state public university in Mysuru, Karnataka, established on 27 July 1916. It was founded during the reign of Maharaja Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV with decisive support from his Diwan, Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university was the first established in Karnataka and is counted among the earliest universities in India. It also holds a distinctive place in Indian educational history because it was created in a princely state outside the direct administrative boundaries of British India. The university began with a small faculty structure but quickly expanded across arts, sciences, engineering, technology and medicine. Its postgraduate activities were later consolidated at Manasagangotri, the major academic campus developed in Mysuru. The campus, whose name means an enduring spring of the mind, became the centre for postgraduate departments, research, libraries and specialized institutes. Crawford Hall remains a prominent administrative landmark, while constituent and affiliated institutions have contributed to the university's broader academic reach. Teaching and research cover languages, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, commerce, education and interdisciplinary areas. Mysore University's intellectual history includes prominent scholars associated with philosophy, Kannada literature, Sanskrit, social sciences and scientific disciplines. The institution played an important role in building postgraduate education in Karnataka before newer universities were created in the state. Its long development includes the introduction of advanced degrees, consolidation of research departments, expansion of Manasagangotri and sustained work in regional language and cultural studies. The university's identity therefore combines royal-era educational reform, the influence of Sir M. Visvesvaraya, a century-long research tradition and the cultural setting of Mysuru. It continues to serve as a major centre for postgraduate teaching and scholarship while preserving one of the most significant institutional legacies in Karnataka higher education. Its archives, libraries and long-running departments preserve an institutional record closely connected with the intellectual history of modern Karnataka.