Mysore, August 6, 2013: It is that time of the year when the temple of Goddess Chamundeshwari, atop the Chamundi hills near Mysore, is abuzz with activity. The annual festivities held during Ashadha Masa are in progress. Lakhs of devotees queue up on Fridays throughout the month to witness special poojas and rituals performed to the deity.

The month of Ashadha that falls between July and August is believed to be auspicious for some rituals and inauspicious for family functions. During Ashadha, (that usually begins in the third or fourth week of July), goddess Chamundeshwari Vardanthi is also celebrated with grand utsavas like Pallaki utsava, Deepotsava and Durbar utsava before culminating in the grand Brahmotsava where devotees pull the colourful, flower-decked chariot adorned with the Utsavamoorti (the golden  idol of the deity).

Celebrating Chamundeshwari Jayanti is an age-old tradition followed to commemorate a religiously and historically significant day in Ashadha when Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, some 200 years ago, made royal offerings to the Chamundeshwari temple, which included the sacred Uthsavamoorti.

Also, during the reign of the popular king, Chamundeshwari temple’s rajagopura (king’s tower, literally) was built in 1827. The seven-tiered 40-metre high Dravidian style pyramidal tower, with its intricate design and skyward shikara (crown) of glittering golden domes greets visitors at the temple’s mukhyadwara, (main entrance). Precisely at the centre, slightly above the silver plated solid doors of the temple’s mukhyadwara, is an eye-catching Ganesha idol.

Another landmark shrine is the famous open-air temple dedicated to the centuries-old deity of Nandi located beside the historic stone-steps walkway, leading to the Chamundeshwari temple. Artistically sculpted, the huge black granite monolith of Nandi in a kneeling posture, is a sight to behold against the backdrop of a peaceful hill spot next to the 1,000 stone steps that was laid in 1659 by Mysore Maharaja Dodda Devaraja Wadiyar.

Source: Deccan Herald, August 6, 2013