Sri Chamundeeswari Temple Mysore

Every year when we go to see my sister in law in Bengaluru from Chennai , we make it a point to visit some temples . As a friend of mine suggested to go to Mysore and listed me some of the temples she went .

After visiting my sister in law we went to satellite bus top in Bengaluru and took a bus to Mysore and put up our stay near Jagan Mohan Palace .

As we reached by afternoon had late lunch by 2pm and took a room near by and took rest and by evening 5pm we got freshened up and enquired about the bus stop there and took a Volvo bus to Chamundi Hills . Every 10 minutes there is a bus to Chamundi Hills .

Sri Chamundeshwari Temple, Mysore, Karnataka is one among the Shakthi peedams.

This temple dedicated to Chamundeshwari Devi is located atop the Chamundi hills in Mysore, Karnataka. The temple is counted among one of the Maha Shakti Peedas where the hair of Sati Devi fell after her dead body was cut into many parts by Lord Vishnu’s Sudarshana Chakra. It is said that the demon Mahishasura was killed by Chamundeshwari Devi here on the tenth day after fighting with him for nine days. Thereafter, the town came to be called Mahishasurana Uru (the town that Mahishasura belonged to). Later, the name shortened to Mahisur or Mysuru which got anglicized as Mysore. The Skanda Purana refers to a sacred place here by the name Trimuta Kshetra which is surrounded by eight hills and Chamundi hills is one among the eight hills which was earlier known as Mahabaladri in honor of Lord Shiva who resides in the Mahabaleshwara Temple, which is the oldest temple in the hills.

As per local belief, the Deity was consecrated by Sage Markandeya.
The Deity being ashta bhuja i.e. having eight hands is in a sitting posture. The temple which is said to be 1000 years old and a small shrine earlier acquired importance after the Wodeyars came to power. Chamundeshwari Devi became the tutelary Deity of the Wodeyar Royal family and the presiding Deity of Mysore. The temple as seen today in it’s glory was expanded during their reign.

The Mysore Dasara is the most famous and important festival celebrated here to mark Navaratri and Vijayadashami. The festival celebrations have been led by the Wodeyar Royal family for more than 400 years. The festival is so famous that apart from Indians, many foreigners reach Mysore on the Vijayadashami day to witness the festivities.

On the day of Vijayadashami, the festival begins with a Nandi Dhwaja puja at noon which is followed by the Jambu Savari of Chamundeshwari Devi who is regally seated on a decorated elephant. The ride begins from the Mysore Palace amidst a huge procession during which the city comes to a standstill and finally ends at the Bannimantap ground. The Royal family worships the Banni tree here as it is believed that the Pandavas hid their weapons in this tree during the last year of their exile. The conclusion of the festival begins with the torch light parade in the Bannimantap ground during the evening.

There is a huge granite Nandi on the 700th step on the hill in front of a small Shiva temple a short distance away. This Nandi is over 15 feet high, and 24 feet long and around its neck are exquisite carved bells.

The shrine of Mahabaleshwara is located close to the Chamundeshwari temple, but does not receive much crowd like the Devi shrine. As a matter of fact, the shrine of Mahabaleshwara is much older than the shrine of the goddess. Here the linga is embedded with a face of Lord Shiva .