Raja Wodeyar I (2 June 1552 – 20 June 1617) was the ninth Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the eldest son of Chamaraja Wodeyar IV, the seventh Maharaja of Mysore. He ruled from 1578, after the death of his cousin Chamaraja Wodeyar V, until his death in 1617.^[1]

Raja Wodeyar I continued his father's policy regarding Vijayanagara ambassadors. During the reign of Sriranga II, who faced internal conflict within his family, Raja Wodeyar removed all Vijayanagara emissaries from his kingdom, except for one in Srirangapattana. Although Mysore declared independence from the Vijayanagara and removed its representatives, it continued to recognize the empire and the emperor.

His procession from the palace to the banana tree in present-day Bannimantap became a tradition for each Mysore king and evolved into the modern Mysore Dasara festival.

In 1610, Raja Wadiyar is credited with initiating the Mysore Dasara celebrations to commemorate the kingdom's independence from the Vijayanagara Empire. This involved offering prayers to the Banni tree tree, approximately two miles from Puragiri, the location of the current Mysore Palace. His only surviving son, Narasaraja Wadiyar, died just a day before the commencement of Navaratri. However, after consulting with experts, the king decreed that the ceremonies should continue uninterrupted, even in the face of royal family deaths.

Raja Wadiyar was a devotee of Vaishnavaite and donated a bejeweled crown to Lord Cheluvarayaswami Temple at Melukote. This crown is still used in the Raja Mudi carnival. This donation contrasts with the Wodeyar family's traditional association with the temple of Karigiri Lakshmi Narasimha at Devarayanadurga in Tumkur as their household deity, as evidenced by the Narasimharaja Wadiyar suffix in their names.^{[undue weight? – discuss]} During Emergency in 1975, the Government of Karnataka confiscated this crown from the royal family. Legend states that Raja Wadiyar, upon entering the garbhagruha (sanctum sanctorum) of the Cheluvarayaswami Temple on 20 June 1617, became one with the deity (aikya; died). An idol (bhakthi vigraha) of the king can be found inside the temple, and another is located in the Lakshminarayanaswami Temple inside the Mysore Palace Fort.

• Mysore Dasara
• Wodeyar dynasty
• Maharaja of Mysore