Sri Mookambika Temple, Kollur
Kollur, Byndoor taluk, Udupi district (on the Sowparnika river, below Kodachadri) · Goddess Mookambika (Adi Shakti) in a self-manifest jyotirlinga divided by a golden line, with a four-armed panchaloha image of the Devi seated behind it
The forest shrine where the Goddess of speech silenced a demon – and where children are initiated into letters.
Kollur, in the forested foothills of Kodachadri in Udupi district, is the seat of Mookambika, the Goddess who slew the demon Mookasura. She is worshipped as a svayambhu (self-manifest) linga with a golden line across it: the left half holds the three Goddesses Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati, and the right half Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Behind the linga sits a four-armed image of the Devi said to have been installed by Adi Shankaracharya, whose meditation seat is preserved in the temple. As Saraswati's seat, Kollur draws parents for Vidyarambha (initiation into learning), artists and musicians, and huge numbers of pilgrims from Kerala.
Timings
- Temple open (morning): 5:00 AM – 1:30 PM
- Darshan only, no sevas: 3:00 – 5:00 PM
- Temple open (evening): 5:00 – 9:00 PM (except special days)
- Seva booking counter: 6:00 AM – 1:30 PM and 5:00 – 9:00 PM
- Free lunch / dinner (prasada): From 12:00 noon / from 8:00 PM
- Note: Per the temple's website and Karnataka ITMS (October 2026). Darshan pauses briefly during pujas.
Darshan types and costs
- General darshan – Free
- North gate (special) darshan – ₹100
- Shankaracharya Peetha darshan – ₹50
- Elderly and disabled – Free
Sevas and costs
- Chandika Homa – ₹8,000 (Daily, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM)
- Navagrahapoorva Chandi Yaga – ₹20,000 (Daily except June–September)
- Udayastamana Pooja (golden chariot) – ₹15,000 (Daily except June–September; procession 8:00 – 9:00 PM)
- Anna Santarpana (one meal) – ₹15,000 (Served 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM or 8:00 – 9:30 PM)
- Maha Pooja – ₹8,000 (Performed next day; 6:00 AM – 12:30 PM and 7:30 – 8:30 PM)
- Deepastambha lighting – ₹3,000 (7:00 – 8:00 PM, except June–September)
- Ganahoma (12 coconuts) – ₹1,500 (Daily)
- Pushpa Rathotsava – ₹1,200 (Evenings; not in the rainy season, Janmashtami, Navaratri, Mahanavami or Maharathotsava…)
- Shata Rudrabhisheka – ₹800 (11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (performed next day))
- Nitya Naivedya (1 month) / Nanda Deepa (1 year) – ₹800 / ₹5,000 (Daily for the period)
- Friday Pooja for 1 year – ₹1,300 (coconut naivedya) / ₹2,000 (rice and coconut naivedya) (Every Friday for a year)
- Lalki Utsava (palanquin) – ₹500 (6:00 AM – 12:30 PM and 5:00 – 8:00 PM; not in rainy season and certain festivals)
- Parivara Pooja – ₹500 (Daily)
- Thulabhara Seva Kanike – ₹300 (items weighed are extra) (7:00 AM and 12:00 noon)
- Vidyarambha Kanike – ₹200 (6:00 AM – 1:30 PM)
- Annaprashana / Namakarana / Upanayana kanike – ₹100 each (6:00 AM – 1:30 PM)
- Uttama Maha Trimadhura / Maha Trimadhura – ₹200 / ₹50 (Daily)
- Archanas – Sahasranama kumkumarchana ₹50 · Trishati kumkumarchana ₹30 · Ashtottara kumkumarchana ₹15 · Sahasranama bhasmarchana ₹25 · Trishati bhasmarchana ₹15 · Ashtottara bhasmarchana ₹10 · Pushpanjali ₹10 (Daily)
- Abhishekas and smaller offerings – Panchamritha ₹100 · Ksheerabhisheka ₹15 · Chandika Parayana ₹100 · Mookambika Alankara Pooja ₹75 · Veerabhadra Alankara Pooja ₹40 · Karpoora Arati ₹15 · Ghee lamp ₹30 · Hannukai (2 coconuts) ₹35 (Daily)
- Naivedyas – Harivana Naivedya ₹100 · Nai Appam ₹100 · Vada ₹100 · Paramanna ₹75 (At naivedya time)
- Vahana Pooja – ₹100 (light) / ₹200 (heavy vehicle) (Daily)
- Punya Prayaschitha / Homa Prayaschitha – ₹200 / ₹350 (Daily)
How to book darshan
Sevas (including Chandika Homa) and guest-house rooms can be booked through the temple's official website, which links to the Karnataka Government ITMS temple portal, or at the seva counter. The old domain kollurmookambika.org is no longer the temple's site – use kollurmookambikatemple.org.
Dress code
Men may not enter wearing shirt, banian (vest), coat, hat, turban, shorts (Bermudas) or lungi: remove shirt and vest and wear a dhoti/mundu or trousers. Women: saree, churidar or long skirt. Enter barefoot.
Best time to visit
October to March. Navaratri (September/October) is the grandest time but very crowded. The monsoon (June–September) is lush but wet, and several special sevas are not performed then.
How to reach
- air: Mangaluru International Airport approx. 140 km; Goa (Dabolim) approx. 260 km.
- rail: Mookambika Road (Byndoor) station on the Konkan Railway, approx. 28 km, with buses and taxis to Kollur. Kundapura station approx. 40 km.
- road: KSRTC and private buses from Kundapura (approx. 40 km), Udupi (approx. 76 km), Mangaluru, Bengaluru (approx. 400 km, overnight) and Kerala towns. The road from Shivamogga via Hosanagara crosses the ghats near Kodachadri.
Festivals
- Navaratri – Ashvayuja (September/October), 9 days
- Annual festival and Maha Rathotsava – Phalguna, March/April, 9 days
- Ugadi – Chaitra (March/April)
- Dhanurmasa – December/January
- Shivaratri – Magha/Phalguna (February/March)
- Ashtabandha Brahmakalashotsava – About once in 12 years (last recorded on the temple site: April 2002)