about templae

The Goddess in the form of the Universal Mother is worshiped for nine nights and hence the name nava-ratri. On the tenth day, the festival comes to an end with a special puja called Vijaya Dasami, the tenth day of the bright half of the Hindu month of Ashwayuja or Ashwina.



The Legend ACCORDING TO THE INDIAN MYTHOLOGY Mahishasura, the king of Asuras, through years of austerities, was once granted a boon by Lord Bramha, that no man or deity would be able to kill him. The immense power filled in him the urge to rule over the world. He started to terrorize heaven and the inhabitants. He pervaded the world with his battalion of Asuras and plundered and ruthlessly killed the people. Chaos and anarchy reigned. Gods were driven from heaven and Mahishasura usurped the throne.
The Gods scared and unable to combat him, requested Lord Shiva, Lord Bramha, Lord Vishnu to stop Mahishasura's tyranny. In answer, the three Gods combined their divine energy and summoned up a feminine form so brilliantly glaring that it illuminated the heavens. From the glow emerged Devi Durga, a beautiful yellow woman with ten arms riding a lion. Despite her grace she bore a menacing expression, for Durga was born to kill. Fully grown and beautiful Durga was immediately armed by the gods and sent forth against Mahishasura bearing in each of her ten hands, symbols of their divine power.
Vishnu's discus; Shiva's trident; Varuna's conchshell; Agni's flaming dart; Vayu's bow; Surya's quiver and arrow; Yama's iron rod; Indra's thunderbolt; Kubera's club and a garland of snakes from Shesha and a lion as a charger from Himalayas. A fierce battle took place. Finally when Mahishasura in the guise of a buffalo charged against Durga, the Devi beheaded the buffalo and from it emerge Mahishasura in his original form. Durga pierced his chest with the trident and relieved the world from the evil power. That is why she is 'Durgatinashini Durga', our mother goddess who destroys the evil, protects her devotees and establishes peace and prosperity on earth.

According to mythology it is believed that the Puja was first started by Rama who invoked Her blessings before setting for the battle against Ravana.
Temple in Vijayawada The city of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh is home to three distinctive temples - the Kanakadurga temple, the Malleswara temple and the Vijayeswara temple. Near Vijayawada is the hill temple complex of Mangalagiri dedicated to Narasimha.
Historically the Malleswara temple goes back to the period of the Tribhuvana Malla, a Chalukyan ruler of the 10th century CE. The Malleswara temple enshrines a Shivalingam believed to have been held in worship by the sage Agastya. Legend also has it that this temple was established by the Pandava prince Yuddhishtra. It is believed that the Lakshmi Narasimha temple at the foothills of Mangalagiri nearby was also built by Yuddhishtra the Pandava prince, and that the Vijayeswara temple was founded by Arjuna.
It is believed that Agastya worshipped Shiva at this temple as Jayasena, while Arjuna worshipped him as Malleswara.

The Indrakila hill in Vijayawada is said to be associated with the legend of Arjuna (Vijaya) obtaining the Pasupataastram from Shiva. The Vijayeswara temple has this and many other such legends illustrated in stone sculpture.

The Kanakadurga temple is a well visited temple in Vijayawada enshrining the Chandi or the Durga aspect of Shakti. The spiritual leader Aadi Sankara is believed to have visited this shrine and installed a Sree Chakra.

Lord Bramaramba MalleswaraTemple Of Kanakadurga Legend has it that Arjuna, of the epic Mahabharata, prayed on top of Indrakiladri hill and won the blessings from Lord Shiva. The name of 'Vijayawada' is derived from this 'Vijaya' - victory. Kanaka Durga, goddess of power, riches and benevolence is considered the presiding deity of Vijayawada. The temple is set on Indrakiladri hill. A temple of Lord Maheswara is also within the city area. It is said that Adi Sankara visited this temple and installed Sri Chakra here. Special celebrations are held during Dussehra festival. At the Kanakadurga temple, the enchanting four-foot high icon of the deity gleams into sight even before one enters the garbha griha. The goddess with eight hands and equipped with eight powerful weapons is seen in a standing posture over the demon Mahishashura and piercing him with her trident. The Goddess bedecked in glittering ornaments and floral decorations is the epitome of beauty. Devotees worship goddess Kanakadurga to bestow them with health, wealth and prosperity. The temple authorities at the Kanakadurgeswari shrine have made elaborate arrangements for devotees to have darshan from different points. The first is the special darshan from within the sanctum sanctorum in close proximity of the deity and the second special darshan is from just outside the sanctum sanctorum. The third type of darshan is from a distance. Chanting of mantras and devotional music euphonises the air in the mornings creating a serene atmosphere.



`Mula Nakshtram', the `Janma Nakshtram' of the goddess.

First friday of Shravana Month (Shravana Masam) is considered very holy and scores of devotees throng the temple on that day