Chamundeshwari Temple Mysore is a Hindu temple located on top of Chamundi hill in Mysore district, the palace city of Karnataka state. Chamundeshwari is known as Nada Devi or State Goddess by the people of Karnataka and has been revered for centuries by the Maharaja of Mysore. The original temple was built in the 12th century by the rulers of the Hoysala dynasty.
It is about 156 km from Bangalore and 53.9 km from Mandya and just 12 km from Mysore.
Chamundeshwari Temple is open from morning 09:30 AM to Evening 5:30 PM.
Chamundeshwari Temple Mysore is considered Shakti Peetha and is one of the 18 Shakti Peethas. Chamundeshwari is the main deity of this temple. The temple, named after Chamundeshwari or the fierce form of Goddess Durga’s Shakti, is situated at an altitude of about 3300 feet above the mean sea level.
It is believed that Goddess Durga killed the demon king Mahishasura on this hilltop during his reign. This place later came to be known as Mahishuru (Place of Mahisha). and later Kannadaized as Mysore.
But its tower was probably built by the rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 17th century. In 1659, a staircase of one thousand steps was built to the 3000-foot summit of the hill. There are several images of Nandi in the temple. There is a small Shiva temple at a little distance.
There is a huge granite Nandi on the 700th step between the hills. Carved in the 12th century, this Nandi is 5 meters tall and 8 meters long and has elegant bells around its neck.
This temple is famous for the celebrations of Ashadha Friday (Ashadha, Navratri and Ammanava Vardhanti) festivals. Especially Fridays are considered auspicious in Ashadh month. Lakhs of devotees throng the temple on this occasion. Another festival is celebrated on this occasion. Chamundi Jayanti is celebrated this month by the Maharaja of Mysore, the anniversary of the installation of the goddess, on which the idol of the goddess is carried in a golden palanquin.
The main festival celebrated here is Navratri. Mysore Dussehra is celebrated as the state festival of Karnataka, known as (Nada Habba) in Kannada. During Navratri, the idol of nine different aspects of the goddess known as Navadurgeya are decorated in 9 different ways. On the 7th day of Navratri, dedicated to Goddess Kalaratri, precious jewels donated by the Maharaja from the district treasury of Mysore are brought to the temple to decorate the idol. This statue of Mahishasura was built during the time of Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar when steps were built to the hills. The statue of Mahishasura is 16 feet tall. Another temple is Jwalamalini Sri Tripura Sundari Temple at the foothills of Chamundibetta in Uttanahalli built during the time of Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar. This goddess is considered to be Chamundeshwari’s sister, Chamundeshwari helped her mother kill a demon called Raktabija on the battlefield.
