Chamundeshwari Temple, Mysuru
ಚಾಮುಂಡೇಶ್ವರಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ, ಮೈಸೂರು
Why this temple matters
Crowning the Chamundi Hill above Mysuru, this shrine to the goddess Chamundeshwari — Durga who slew the buffalo-demon Mahishasura — is a Shakti Peetha and the tutelary deity of the old Mysore royal house.
History
The Chamundeshwari temple rises on the Chamundi Hill overlooking Mysuru, on a site sacred since early times and counted among the Shakti Peethas. The shrine grew from Hoysala-era origins and was enriched by the Vijayanagara kings, but it is above all bound to the Wadiyars of Mysore, who took Chamundeshwari as their family deity; the great seven-tiered gateway tower was raised by Krishnaraja Wadiyar III in the early nineteenth century. The goddess gives the city and region their identity, and her hill has drawn pilgrims up its long stair for centuries.
Architecture
The temple stands atop the Chamundi Hill, reached by road or by a stone stairway of around a thousand steps, along which pilgrims pause at the great monolithic Nandi carved partway up the slope. Its tall Dravidian gopuram, seven tiers high and richly figured, is the Wadiyar addition that crowns the approach. Within, the goddess Chamundeshwari is enshrined as the slayer of Mahishasura, and near the summit a large statue of the buffalo-demon recalls the myth that names the city. From the hilltop the whole of Mysuru and its palace spread out below.
Legends
Chamundeshwari is the form of Durga who destroyed the buffalo-demon Mahishasura after he had won a boon of near-invincibility and terrorised the worlds; from Mahisha the city takes its name, Mahishuru, Mysuru. As Chamunda, she is also remembered for slaying the demons Chanda and Munda, from whom her name derives. The hill is honoured as the ground of the goddess’s victory, and her triumph over the buffalo-demon is the very heart of the great autumn festival that the region keeps in her name.
Festivals
The Navaratri and Dasara festival is Chamundeshwari’s supreme occasion and the grandest festival of Karnataka — the historic Mysore Dasara, in which the goddess is honoured over ten days culminating in Vijayadashami, with the famous royal procession in the city below. The goddess is carried in procession and worshipped through the nights of Navaratri, and the hill is thronged. Ashada and Friday worship dear to the Devi, and the annual rituals of the former royal house, mark the temple’s year.
The Experience
Whether climbed by the thousand steps or reached by the winding road, the Chamundi Hill rewards the ascent with cool air, the great Nandi along the way, and a wide view over Mysuru. At the summit the queue moves toward the goddess through the shadow of the tall gopuram, and the sense of standing at the region’s guardian shrine is strong, especially during Dasara when hill and city alike are alight. On ordinary mornings the hilltop is calm and green, the city a quiet spread below, the goddess close at hand.