Hasanamba Temple located at Hassan in Karnataka opens for darshan only for less than 13 days in a year just before Diwali. In October 2023, the temple will be open from November 2 to November 15, 2023. Darshan Timings (opening time) are between 6:00 AM and 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM and 10:30 PM.
Hasanamba Temple annually opens on Thursday after Ashwin Purnima as per traditional Hindu calendar followed in Karnataka and closes on Balipadyami day. Goddess Hasanamba is a manifestation of Mother Goddess Shakti and is also considered as a Sapta Matrika in this region.
Dedicated to Goddess Shakti, this eponymous shrine is believed to have been built during the 12th century.
Tradition has it one of Sapta Matrikas resided here once and she took the form Goddess Hasanamba to bless the land and its people.
It is said that a lamp that is lit on the closing day of Bali Padyami remains lit when the temple is reopened next year.
Hasanamba Temple Miracles
The annual opening of the temple begins with the ritual of taking out of the jewelry of the Goddess from the district treasury.
People here account numerous tales of miracles performed by Goddess Hasanamba.
Before closing the temple shrine, a ghee lamp is lit and placed in the
sanctum along with flowers and a prasad of cooked rice. When the temple
is opened after a year, it is indeed miraculous to see that the lamp
still burning, the flowers fresh, and the prasad unspoilt.
According to another legend, there was a lady who was an ardent devotee.
She visited the temple every day. But her cruel mother-in-law followed
her one day and on seeing her pray, assaulted her with a hard object.
When the daughter-in-law cried for help, Hasanamba turned her into a
stone so that she could be unharmed. Even now there is a stone inside
the temple, said to represent the lady. It is believed to be moving
towards the goddess by a fraction of a millimetre every year, and when
it reaches the anthill, the present Kali Yuga will come to an end.
Yet another folklore says once, four robbers tried to steal the
ornaments in the temple. They were frozen into stones. These stones are
very much there for us to see in the adjacent shrine of Kallappanna Gudi.
Story Of Hasanamba Temple
According to local history, long ago, there was a demon, Andhakasura, who
after a rigorous penance, obtains a boon from Brahma to become
invincible. With the newly acquired power, he creates havoc everywhere.
Even when Shiva tries to kill him, every drop of his blood that falls to
the ground grows into a demon and becomes uncontrollable.
Shiva
by his powers creates Goddess Yogeshwari, along with
Saptamatrikas — namely Brahmi, Maheshwari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi,
Varahi, Indrani and Chamundi — brings about the end of the demon.
Thereafter,
the Saptamatrikas travelling south from Varanasi stumble upon a
jungle with pristine beauty and decide to stay there. This beautiful
location is what turned out to be the present-day Hassan.
Among the
goddesses, Vaishnavi, Maheshwari and Kaumari resided in the anthill in
the main sanctum sanctorum. Goddesses Chamundi, Varahi and Indrani chose to dwell in
Devigere Tank near the temple, while Goddess Brahmi resided in
Kenchammana Hoskote on the outskirts.
Image from Srikanth Manjunath photo gallery
