At Kollur in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, on the bank of the Souparnika river below the Kodachadri hill, stands the celebrated temple of Mookambika, one of the most revered Devi shrines of the South. The Goddess is worshipped as Mookambika, who, tradition holds, slew the demon Mookasura; uniquely, she is enshrined over a jyotirlinga, so that the Divine Mother is revered here as the union of Shakti and Shiva, and tradition holds that Adi Shankaracharya himself consecrated her.
Mookambika is honoured above all as a form of Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, and countless families bring their children to her for the Vidyarambham — the first ceremony of learning to write. Serene amid forested hills, Mookambika of Kollur is a supreme seat of the Mother as wisdom and grace.
At Mookambika in Kollur the lingam has a golden line running across it, and the Goddess is worshipped as Shiva and Shakti held in a single form.
Source: Kollur Mookambika Temple administration, Karnataka
