From the summit sanctum of Sri Ambojeshwara to the new sannidhi of Goddess Durga, every shrine on Ambajidurga carries its own age and its own story.
Ambojeshwara is the presiding deity of Ambajidurga, established at the very top of the 3,499 ft hill. The Ramayana records that Sita and Rama, during their years of exile, came to this hill and worshipped here.
The inner sanctum is small — a Shivalinga, a Nandi before it, a stone pillar — but the silence and the view from the summit have drawn pilgrims for ages. The current shrine has been carefully reassembled after centuries of weathering.
When there was no oil to light the lamp during the worship of Ambojeshwara, Mother Sita is said to have touched the rock with her divine power and opened a 9 ft long and wide well, drawing forth oil for the deepa. The place has been called the Yenne Kanija ever since.
With the close of the Treta and Dwapara Yugas, the well no longer yields oil — but water. Through summer, monsoon and storm, the spring flows at the top of a barren granite hill, every day of the year. Villagers around the hill believe that drinking this water heals long-standing ailments, and that vows made standing at the Yenne Kanija and worshipping Ambojeshwara in thought, word and deed are fulfilled.
On the three-fourths slope of the hill stands the rare ugra-rupa of Anjaneya Swamy. He bears no mace; a fang shows at the mouth; the demon Akshayakumara (son of Ravana) lies under his feet; a dagger rests at his waist; in one hand he holds the Saugandhika flower; the other is raised in abhaya.
The form gathers three yugas into one stance — the slaying of Akshayakumara from the Treta, the bringing of Saugandhika flowers from Gandharva loka in the Dwapara, and the destruction of dusta (evil) for the devotee in this age.
After the fall of the Palayagara rule the temple was lost to forest for nearly 300 years. The murti itself bore not a scratch. In 2014 a farmer of Kavaluganahalli, Sri Narayana Swamy, was guided to it in a dream and offered the first worship the same day.
Sri Kaivara Yoga Narayana Yathindra Tataiah wrote in his Kalagyana that when daily worship is established on Ambajidurga, Durga Mata will be installed on the hill. Local legend speaks of a great Durga idol here in ancient times that vanished as worship lapsed.
The temple is now built. The Pratishtha of Goddess Durga is set for 14 November 2025 — fulfilling the words of the Kaivara seer and returning the Mother to her hill.