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Sri Mookambika Temple, Kollur

Kollur, Byndoor taluk, Udupi district, Karnataka

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Sri Mookambika Temple, Kollur
Photo: Ashok Prabhakaran from Chennai, India, CC BY-SA 2.0

About

The Sri Mookambika temple of Kollur lies at the foot of the Kodachadri hills, on the south bank of the Souparnika river, amid thick green forest. Here the Devi is worshipped as a self-manifested Jyotirlinga with a golden line through its middle: one side is seen as Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati, the other as the three gods. So Mata is seen as the union of Shiv and Shakti. Behind the linga sits her four-armed panchaloha murti, holding a conch and a discus. By tradition she is worshipped as Saraswati in the morning, Lakshmi at noon and Parvati in the evening. Kollur is counted among the seven Mukti Sthalas of Karnataka, and many devotees come from Kerala too.

The story

The story says the sage Kola Maharishi was doing tapasya here. At the same time a demon named Kaumasura was trying to please Shiv ji for a boon that would make him unbeatable. Knowing his evil aims, Devi Shakti made him mooka, mute, so when Shiv ji appeared he could not ask for anything. Enraged, he began to trouble Kola Maharishi and others. At the sage's prayer the Devi appeared and ended the demon, Mookasura, and so she was named Mookambika. Kola Maharishi asked her to stay here forever, and the Jyotirlinga with the golden line appeared. Another well-known story is about Adi Shankaracharya. He did tapasya on Kodachadri and prayed to Mata to come with him to Kerala. She agreed on one condition: she would follow behind, and he must not look back. Near Kollur the sound of her anklets stopped, and Shankaracharya turned to look. So Mata chose to stay here, and Shankaracharya installed her murti at this place.

Visiting

October to February is a good time; the monsoon brings very heavy rain. Prasad meals are served to devotees at noon and in the evening. Vidyarambham is also done at the temple on other auspicious days of the year, not only on Vijayadashami. Kodachadri hill, by tradition the Devi's original seat, is nearby. Udupi is about 80 km away.

Festivals

  • Navratri (Ashwin Shukla): on Vijayadashami little children begin learning their first letters (Vidyarambham)
  • Rathotsava, the chariot festival (month of Phalgun)

Famous temples

Sources