Mookambika

Goddess Mookambika is known to destroy the demon Kamasura. Once, long ago lived a demon named Kamasura. He wanted to attain Swarga look and become the lord of the three worlds, and so he did tapasya to Brahma. Knowing that once Kamhasura gets his boon, he will become unstoppable. Kamasura became livid with rage and used all of his might to tumble down the Gods. He was successful in doing so and too over the position of Indra. The Gods then prayed to the Trimurti for a solution. The Gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva asked the Tridevi- Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Parvati to form a new goddess to destroy Kamasura. They did so and the Goddess that formed was Goddess Mookambika. Mookambika Devi then went to battle with Kamasura. Goddess Mookambika slaughtered Kamasura.

Another legend states that Saint Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have the vision of the goddess Saraswati. He prayed for the Goddess to move to Kerala as there was no temple dedicated to the Goddess at the time. Saraswati agreed to move there if Adi Shankaracharya will stay in front of her and not look back till they reach Kerala. Adi Shankaracharya agreed and headed towards Kerala. As they were walking, Adi Shankaracharya was reassured of the Goddess' presence through the sound of her anklets jingling. But, when they reached the Mookambika Temple in Kollur, he could not hear the anklets. He turned back and saw that Goddess Saraswati was always with him. Staying true to the condition, Saraswati stayed at the Mookambika temple and merged with the lingam, but she promised that she will come to Kerala in the form of Chottanikkara Bhagavathi. Adi Shankaracharya then prayed to the Goddess who then came to him in the form of a four-handed idol. He then installed her in the temple and went to Kerala to the Chottanikkara Bhagavathi temple where he saw the Goddess Saraswati draped in white at dawn.

Mookambika Devi is shown as a four-armed deity. In her upper hands, she holds the Conch and the Sudarshana Chakra, and in her lower hands, she shows the Abhaya and Varada Mudras. She is seated in Padmasana pose (Crossed legs) and is seated on an altar. When dressed, her skirt shows her vahana, the lion, but sometimes includes a white elephant or a peacock. Beneath her is the swayambu lingam holding the Rekha, usually during worshipped is covered with a head. In the Kollur temple, she is covered by an arch bearing her symbols, the chakra and the conch shell, along with two flags representing the sun and moon and a Kirtimukha that is situated in the center of the arch.

• Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary