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The
lovely hillock - Chamundi Betta lying at about 2 km south east of
the fort of Mysore city enshrines some ancient temples of great
renown. It etched its glorious image on the pages of both legends
and history. In addition to being the holy seat for Mother
Chamundeswari, this hill temple possesses many antique Devalayas,
like Mahabaleswar that received liberal endowments by many rulers,
like Hoyasalas in the past. It has all the Saivate goods,
like Parvathi, Vinayaka, Subramanya fittingly installed inside. This
was built by Hoyasala king Vishnuvardhana in 1128. The Vijayanagar
kings beautified these shrines in 1620, and made endowments enough
to carrying on the regular prayer services. It was during the regime
of Wodeyars, these Devalayas received royal patronage that metamorphosed
them into gigantic structures with additions, renovations etc. In
1820 Krishna Raja Wodeyar applied his hands and it was deemed a
Midas touch to speak the truth; for a tall tower with enchanting
sculpture heightening the glory of the main temple went up piercing
into the sky proclaiming, as it were, his munificence. And the new
charm emitting from the extensions made is worthy of veneration.
It
was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore. Hence all
types of conveyance facilities are available.
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