Chamundeswari Temple (Mysore)

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Chamundeswari Temple is located on the top of Chamundi Hills about 13 km from the palace city of Mysore in the state of Karnataka in India. The temple was named after Chamundeswari or Durga, the fierce form of Shakti, a tutelary deity held in reverence for centuries by Mysore Maharajas. Chamundeswari Temple is located on the top of Chamundi Hills about 13 km from the palace city of Mysore in the state of Karnataka in India. The temple was named after Chamundeswari or Durga, the fierce form of Shakti, a tutelary deity held in reverence for centuries by Mysore Maharajas.

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At the temple are several images of Nandi (the bull mount of Shiva). There is a huge granite Nandi on the 800th 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 bells. The temple has a seven story tall ‘gopuram’ decorated with intricate carvings. The idol of the Chamunda Devi is said to be made of solid gold and the temple gates are made of silver.

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A flight of one thousand steps built by the Maharaja Dodda Devaraja in 1659 also leads up to the summit of the hill which is at a height of about 3000 feet. Chamraja Wodeyar IV is said to have worshipped here in 1573 and was miraculously saved from a lightning hit. Krishnaraja III  (late 18th century) built the temple tower and presented the Nakshatramalika  jewel with sanskrit verses inscribed on it.

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Chamundeswari, or Durga is the fierce form of Shakti who vanquished the demon Mahishasuran. A colorful image of the demon greets visitors as they reach the summit of the hill.

Bull Temple (Banglore)

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The Bull temple of Mysore is located in the Southern part of India in the state of Karnataka. It was constructed in the 6th century and is dedicated to Nandi, the sacred bull of Lord Shiva. The Structure of the holy bull is carved out of a single block of Granite rock. The temple reflects the specimen of the Dravidian architecture. The Gigantic bull measure 4.57 meters in height and 6.10 meters in length. The temple houses Nandi the Vahana or vehicle of Shiva, along with sculptures of God Surya and goddess Candra on their chariots drawn by horses. Also there is a small lingam shrine bedecked with the exquisite Gopuram. The Bull temple, Mysore comes to liveliness during the Shivratri festival.

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The temple built by Kempe Gowda, a typical example of the Dravidian-style temple, is situated in Basavanagudi. The temple has a huge monolithic bull 4.5m tall and 6m long. It is believed that the source of the river Vishwa Bharathi originates from the feet of the Nandi.

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The bull has a small iron plate on its head to prevent it, as tradition says, from growing. Also there is a Ganesh temple, with a large deity made of 110 kilos of butter. The deity of butter is broken up and distributed every four years. In Kannada, Basava means bull, which gives the name Basavanagudi to the locality.

Birla Mandir (Hyderabad)

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Birla Mandir is one of the foremost tourist attractions in Hyderabad. Surely no trip to the city is complete without a visit to this beautiful temple. The best thing about this Birla Temple is that it is open to people of all religious faiths. At the very entrance of the temple there is a brass memorial welcoming everyone.

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An enchanting temple dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, the Birla Mandir of Hyderabad, India stands in its entire splendor on the hilltop of Kala Pahad. Made of pure white marble from Rajasthan, the Birla Mandir overlooks the serene and placid waters of the Hussain Sagar Lake. The famous Birla industrialist who had built a large number of temples all over India built the Birla temple of Hyderabad. They finished building the Birla Mandir of Hyderabad within a time span of ten years. The magnificent shrine offers a wonderfully breath-taking view of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

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The Birla Mandir was built by Raja Baldev Birla. In the year 1938, the temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. There is a very interesting anecdote. At that point of time, the social evil of Untouchability was like a poisonous sore and needed to be mitigated. Everyone was not given the permission to enter the premises of temples. Gandhi placed the condition that he would inaugurate the temple only if people belonging to all strata of the society were permitted to offer their prayers in the temple.

As you enter the temple you can see the ‘Gopuram’ or the pyramid shaped temple top, which is a characteristic feature of South Indian temples. The tower situated at the top of the principal deity called the Jagadananda vimanam is again built in the Orissan style. The flagstaff of the temple is made up of brass, and reaches to a staggering height of 42 feet.