Mysore(Mysooru) is known as the 'City of Palaces' but it has
a number of beautiful temples
as well. The members of the Royal family of Mysore(Mysooru) were
very religious and hence built new temples, renovated
and expanded existing ones. Most of the temples are
located in the fort or around the Palace. Few of the
temples existed for centuries before the Wodeyars of
Mysore(Mysooru) and some were built during their reign.
There is no doubt that the Chamundeshwari temple on
top of the Chamundi hills is the most famous temple
in Mysore(Mysooru). Goddess Chamundi is the presiding deity of
the Wodeyar Royal family. This temple is dedicated to
the Goddess who killed the demon Mahishasura, after
whom the city of Mysore(Mysooru) is named. Initially the temple
was a small one, but under the patronage of the Wodeyars
it was expanded and has become the grand temple it is
today. What many people do not know is that the Mahabaleswar
temple, which is also on Chamundi hills, is older than
the Chamundeswari temple. This temple was a very important
one, but once the Chamudeswari temple started getting
extensive royal patronage the prominence of this temple
began to decline.
The other important temples in the city of Mysore(Mysooru) are
- the Lakshmiramana Swamy temple, which is the oldest
temple in the city, Prassana Krishanswamy temple built
by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, Shewtavarahaswamy temple
built by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III and the Trineswaraswamy
temple. Most of the temples were inside the Mysore(Mysooru) Fort
and close to the Palace so that the Royal family had
easy access to it to offer their daily prayers.
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