The Chamundi Hills are located 13 km east of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. The name comes from the Chamundeshwari Temple at the peak. The average elevation is .

Attractions

The

Chamundeshwari Temple The Chamundeshwari Temple is a Hindu temple located on the top of Chamundi Hills about 13 km from the palace city of Mysuru in the state of Karnataka in India. The temple was named after Chamundeshwari or, the fierce form of Shakti, a tut ...

is located atop the Chamundi Hills. Patronised for centuries by

rulers, it was renovated during the time of

Krishnaraja Wodeyar III Krishnaraja Wadiyar III (14 July 1794 – 27 March 1868) was the twenty-second maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. Also known as Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the maharaja belonged to the Wadiyar dynasty and ruled the kingdom for nearly seventy ...

(1827).

Temple

Statue du démon Mahishâsura (Mysore, Inde) (14454518575)

Named after the Goddess

Chamundi Chamunda ( Sanskrit: चामुण्डा, ISO-15919: Cāmuṇḍā), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu Divine Mother Shakti and is one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses) ...

, the

sits atop the main hill. The main hill itself features an ancient stone stairway of 1,008 steps leading to its summit. Approximately halfway to the summit is statue of bull Nandi, the

vahana ''Vahana'' ( sa, वाहन, or animal vehicle, literally "that which carries, that which pulls") denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical, a particular Hindu God is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vahana is often ...

, or "vehicle" of

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

, which is 4.9 m tall and 7.6 m long and carved out of a single piece of black granite. Around this point, the steps become significantly less steep and eventually the climber is rewarded with a panoramic view of the city. The Temple has a quadrangular structure. A key feature is the statue of

Mahishasura Mahishasura is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in literature to be a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of Mahisi (Buffalo) and the great-grandson of Brahmarshi Kashyapa. He was ultima ...

bearing a sword in his right hand and a cobra in the left. Within the temple's sanctum stands a sculpted depiction of Chamundeshwari. She is seated with her right heel pressed against the lowest of the seven

chakras Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

. This cross-legged

yogic Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

posture echoes the posture of

. Worshipers believe that this powerful yogic posture, if mastered, provides an added dimensional view of the universe. During the rule of Wadiyars of Mysore, the Maharaja was seated in the golden howdah atop the elephant during Vijayadashami (tenth day of Dasara) procession. Post-independence, the Maharaja was replaced by an idol of Chamundeshwari, while the Dasara into a State festival. From the peak of the Chamundi hills, the Mysore Palace, the

Karanji Lake Karanji Lake is a lake located in the city of Mysore in the state of Karnataka, India. The lake is surrounded by a nature park consisting of a butterfly park and a walk-through aviary. This aviary is the biggest 'walk-through aviary' in Indi ...

and several smaller temples are visible.

Legend

According to a legend, the

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

(king of the city that is currently known as

) was killed by goddess Chamundeswari (also called

) after a fierce battle. The goddess is also called Mahishasura Mardini.Chamundi Hills
/ref> According to mythology, this rocky hill was known as Mahabalachala. Two ancient temples occupy the hill, the Mahabaleshvara and the Chamundeshvari; the Mahabaleshvara Temple on the hill is the older of the two and is a place of pilgrimage. The car festival and 'Teppotsava' are held there.

The influence on the name of Mysuru

The name of Mysuru comes from the old Kannada word "Mahishooru". Mahishooru literally means 'the village of Mahishasura.' The British then modified this name to 'Mysore'. Then, on 1 November 2014, the government of Karnataka changed the name to 'Mysuru'. The hill thus has an indirect influence on the name of the city

References

External links