The little known temples on the hill

An earlier post had dealt with the Chamundi Hills and the many names that the hills were called by. This post is about a few other temples on the Chamundi Hills which unfortunately are not so well-known as the Chamundi Temple.

One of the earliest temples not only on Chamundi Hills but in the Mysore region is the Mahabaleshwara Temple.

The Mahabaleshwar temple was initially built by the Gangas during the eighth century and renovated by Hoysalas. Interestingly, the bronze idols in this temple belong to the Chola period.
The temple is an artistic blend of  Hoysala and Ganga architecture. The main deity is the linga which has Shiva’s face on it. There is also an idol of Parvathi to the left of the Linga.

The idols of Sapta Mata (seven mothers), two idols of Ganesha,  Nataraja along with Sivakami are also found in the temple.

Generally, we do not find an idol of Nataraja in a Shiva temple but this is an exception here. It is also rare to find a stone idol of Nataraja and this can be seen here.

The priest of the temple says since the Linga self manifested, it is also known as Aarsheya Murthy.

Outside the temple are the five avatars of Shiva - Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha and Eeshana. These idols were consecrated by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar.

Another little known temple on the hills is that of Lakshmi Narayana which is situated behind the Mahabaleshwar temple.

The temple faces West and it is dedicated to Narayana along with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi.

This deities have been carved from a single stone. There is a beautiful and unique idol of Hanuman here and it has been growing for the last 100 years. Strangely, the idol cannot be seen clearly in the day but it is visible after dark when lamps are lit. This idol faces north.

There is an interesting tale about the idol. According to locals, Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodayer came to the place and directed a sculptor to break a stone lying on the hill. The sculptor hit the stone a few times but was only able to make a small dent. Later that night, Hanuman appeared in the dreams of the sculptor and asked him not to break the stone. He said he was growing on the stone and, therefore, there was no need to break it.

The stone then was consecrated as it is and this has been growing. Maharani Tripura Sundari, second wife of Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodayer, commissioned a silver Kavacha for the idol.

There is no Dhwaja Stamba for this temple. However, both the  Mahabaleshwara and Chamundi Temples have Dhwaja Stambas.

Another interesting temple on the Hill is the Nandi and the small cave temple of Shiva behind it.   

The 16 feet high and 24 feet long monolith Nandi was installed by Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar in 1659. The significance of this Nandi is that, while Nandi everywhere faces Shiva, it faces south while Shiva looks towards  the east.

Locals say the Wodeyars installed ten different Nandi idols around the hill to protect their empire. Even today, some of the Nandi statues can be seen as Neerkal Hatti Basava, Ulluri Basava, Kodi Basava and Kere Bali Basava.

Coming back to the Nandi on Chamundi Hills, there is a small Cave temple adjacent to the monolith which houses a Shiva Linga.

Another temple is that of  Jwala Tripura Sundari, sister of Chamundi at Uttanahalli.

The idol of the goddess, said to be an avtar of Lakshmi, is located little below the ground. The hillock on which this temple is located is called Ramanathagiri. This is so as the temple also houses the self-manifested idol of Ramanateshwara or Shiva.

Nearby is the ashrama of Markandeya ashram which is marked by a small temple. Legend is Markandeya worshipped Shiva at this very spot.

Devikere, which lies en route to the Chamundi Hill, is a small but beautiful pond meant to draw water for the temple. The Devi kere is also known as Deva Gange as Ganga created the water here to worship Shiva.

The many names of Chamundi Hills

Lakhs of tourists and pilgrims make a beeline to the Chamundi temple atop the Betta or Chamundi Hills in Mysore. The Hills, which are among the eight most religious hills in south India and have an average elevation of a thousand meters above sea level,  are a natural and religious attraction and give Mysore a pride of place on the tourist map of India.

The Chamundi temple, which is situated atop the Chamundi Hills, is one of the largest in Karnataka and rivals the Ranganatha temple in Srirangapatna and the Nanjundeshwara Temple in Nanjangud in size and footfalls.

Tourists and first tome visitors and even many Mysoreans assume that the hills came to called as Chamundi after the temple by the same name. What they do not know is that the hills were known by different names and it came to be called after Chamundi only after the Wodeyars began ruling from Mysore in the 14^th century.

Interestingly, there are many myths and legends associated with Chamundi Hills and of course Mysore too. Mysore perhaps is the only city in  Karnataka after Badami to be named after a demon. If  Badami is named after Vatapi, Mysore city is named after Mahishasura.

Chamundi Hills, with along and winding 12 kilometre road to the top amid forests, is the very place where the demon, Mahishasura, was slain by Goddess Chamundi. The silhouette of the hills from the main palace of Mysore gives an impression of Mahishasura sleeping.

Located 13 kilometres from the heart of Mysore city, the first mention of Chamundi was after Mahabala, a form of Shiva. Centuries ago, the Chamundi Hills were better known as Mahabaladrigiri.  This was so as the main deity on the hill was Mahabaleshwara (Shiva) and not Chamundi.

The name of Maabbala or Mahabala Betta or Maabala Theertha is repeatedly mentioned during the Hoysala period. Mahabala was another name for Chamundi Hills. 

Hoysala Emperor Vishnuvardhana had given funds for the maintenance of the temple and also for the worship of  Shiva. Till the reign of Bola Chamaraja Wodeyar, the Chamundi temple was one of the many on the hills and the Mahabala Temple was the most important structure atop the hills.

It was when Bola Chamaraja Wodeyar survived an attack of lightning but lost all his hair that he believed Chamundi had saved him. Since then, Chamundi began gaining importance and the temple of Chamundeshwari began gaining prominence. 

Subsequently, Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar (1659-1673), built 1108 steps in 1659 or 1664 for the benefit of pilgrims. The steps can still be seen and they are used by devotees and health and fitness freaks. He also commissioned the 16 feet high monolithic statue of the Nandi on the hills in 1659.

By the way, the temple of Shiva or Mahabala exists even today and historians and archaeologists agree that this structure is much older than the Chamundi temple. The first structure of this ancient temple dates back to the period of the Gangas.

When the Wodeyars came to power and began ruling the province of Purugere from the 14^th century onwards, first as vassals of Vijayanagar and then as independent rulers of Mysore, Chamundeshwari or Chamundi became their family deity.

The Wodeyars commenced regular poojas at the Chamundi Temple and the hills slowly came to be known as Chamundi Hills. Another name for the hills is Trimukuta Kshetra or three-peaked hill.

The Chamundi Hill is compared to a middle bud of a lotus surrounded by eight petals and all these petals represent different hills. The eight hills are Chikkadevammana Betta in HD Kote, Gopalswamy Betta, Biligiri Rangana Betta (BR Hills), Male Madeshwara (MM Hills) Betta, Kunti Betta near Pandavapura, Yadugiri in Melkote, Mallayana Betta in Pandavpura and Karigatta in Srirangapatna. The Chamundi, therefore, is called as a bud surrounded by eight petals and, hence, the name Ashtadala Parvata (hill surrounded by eight petals).

The Chamundi hill is sandwiched between two rivers. If  Cauvery flows north, Kapila flows south. The Chamundi Hills also has one of the oldest inscription ever found in Mysore and this is dated to 950A D when the Gangas were lording over the area. There is also a Hoysala inscription here dating back to the 12^th century. The hills not only provide you with a trekking, walking and motoring experience but also give you a glimpse of wildlife in the Chamundi Reserve Forest abutting the hill. (This is the first of a three part post on Chamundi Hills, its temples and other little known spots).

Reviving the Srirangapatna Dasara

The Festival of Lights or Deepavali is on and Dassara or Dasara, the State festival, has just ended.

Lakhs of people have gone back with fond memories of the Dasara at Mysore. The many literary, cultural, religious and sporting events held at Mysore as part of the Dasara drew fairly large crowds.

Events such as wrestling or Kusti, the Jumboo Savari or procession drew large crowds. However, the Dasara at Mysore definitely overshadowed and overwhelmed a similar event at Srirangapatna where the event began.

It was in this fort town in the midst of the Cauvery that Raja Wodeyar commenced the tradition of Dasara. When Abhimanyu, the 47 year-old-tusker carried the idol of Goddess Chamundi during the Dasara procession in Srirangapatna, the event triggered  memories when the festival was held here till it was shifted to Mysore in 1800.
The origin of the present Dasara goes back to the Vijayanagars and after the fall of Hampi in 1565, Dasara all but disappeared as a public function. When Raja Wodeyar, the King of Mysore, defeated Sriranaga Raya, the Viceroy of Srirangapatna and a representative of the Vijayanagar Empire in 1610, he captured the town of  Srirangapatna.

Realising the strategic importance of locating a capital in an island, Raja Wodeyar shifted his capital from Mysore to Srirangapatna. He began ruling from Srirangapatna and he also decided to revive the annual Dasara festivities.

The magnificent Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangapatna was the centre of Dasara activities just as the Vijaya Vittala and Virupaksha Temple were in Hampi. Raja Wodeyar set the ball rolling for the coming centuries when he gave directions on the conduct of the Dasara festivities.

He set rules for the conduct of the festival and ordained that the festival should not stop even if there is a death in the royal family. There was one soon after he framed these rules and the King ordered the festivities to go on.  

Thus, after Hampi, it was Srirangapatna which became the centre of Dasara in Karnataka. Several Wodeyar Kings, including Ranadheera Kanteerava or Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar (1638 -1659 AD) and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar (1673 -1704 AD) contributed immensely to the growth of the Dasara in Srirangapatna, while subsequent Kings like Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (III) (1799 - 1868 AD), Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar -IV (1902 -1940 AD) and Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar (1940-1947) did so in Mysore.

For several decades, Srirangapatna Dasara was a forgotten episode. Neither the Government nor the people displayed any interest in reviving an ancient tradition. This was so until a few years back-till 2007- when the Mandya district administration woke up to the tourist and pilgrim potential of the Dasara at Srirangapatna too.   
Since the last four years, the government has been trying to resurrect the glory of Srirangapatna Dasara. It has ensured that a Dasara procession is organized just like the one at Mysore and a caparisoned elephant leads the procession.

The Jamboo Savari of Srirangapatna drew fairly large crowds this October as Abhimanyu carried the idol, placed in a flower decorated mantap.
The Srirangapatna Dasara was inaugurated by G Venkatasubbaiah, lexicographer and Kannada writer, at Bannimanatap. He offered  pooja to Goddess Chamundi. The Mysore Dasara was from the main palace to Banni Mantapa, while its counterpart in Srirangapatna saw the procession from Banni Mantapa near the Kirangur Gate, off the Bangalore-Mysore Highway to Srirangapatna where it ended at the Ranganathaswamy Temple.

There was cultural and musical events during the five day Dasara festival at Srirangapatna.
The Mysore Dasara Committee had lent five elephants, horses and a wooden ‘ambari’ for the procession. This year’s attraction was the spectacular sound and light show (Son et lumiere), about the rise and fall of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore who was killed in battle in 1799.

Forty tableaux by various government departments, organisations and folk art troupes  accompanied the Jamboo Savari procession. The cultural and musical events were organized at Sriranga Vedike, near Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple. Unfortunately, the Srirangapatna Dasara was not as well publicised as the Mysore and Madikeri Dasara. Thousands of visitors to Mysore were unaware of this Dasara.

Dasara in Srirangapatna continued even under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Both of them allowed the Wodeyar Kings to participate in the Dasara procession. Thus, Srirangapatna had a history of Dasara from 1610 till 1798 after which it was shifted to Mysore.

There are many accounts of the Dasara held in Srirangapatna by the Wodeyars. The then Wodeyar rulers did their best to revive the glory and pomp of the Vijayanagar Dasara and they succeeded in doing so to a large extent.

One of the best accounts of the Srirangapatna Dasara is in the work of Govinda Vaidya, the court poet of Ranadheera Kanteerava. He gives us a beautiful and evocative account of the Vijayadashami procession in Kantirava Narasaraja Vijayam in 1648 which he calls Jambi Savari, meaning a procession to the Banni tree (Subsequently, Jambi became Jumbo, while Savari remained unchanged. So today, we have Jumboo Savari and not Jambi Savari).

The royal pavilion from where the Wodeyar Kings worshipped the royal cow, royal elephant, royal camel and royal chariot was at the exact place where the Daria Daulat stands today. Lt. Col. Mark Wilks (1760-1831), who was the Resident of Mysore  from 1803 to 1909 and who fought against Tipu Sultan, also locates the royal Dasara pavilion at this place.  

Unfortunately, the glory of Srirangapatna Dasara is gone and it cannot be revived unless and until the State Government makes sincere efforts to revive the rich cultural heritage and legacy of our ancients.