Sri Mookambika Temple is situated at Kollur in Karnataka. It is placed at the foot of the banks of the Sauparnika River, 147 kms away from Mangalore via Coondapur in Dakshina Kannada district. Kollur is an important place for pilgrimage in Karnataka. It is believed that this temple had been built by Parashurama. The goddess is in the form of Jyotir Linga incorporating both Lord Shiva and Shakti. The image of the goddess is made of five element mixed metal or Panchaloha and it is placed on the Shree Chakra. It is believed that the idol has been consecrated by Adi Shankaracharya. This idol has been placed in a copper roofed and gold crested temple. Another figure of Panchamukha Ganesha is also to be found here. The chief deity, Goddess Mookambika, is also of great value.

Sri Mookambika temple is regarded as one of the seven great pilgrim centres of Karnataka. The others are Udupi, Subramanya, Anegudde or Kumbakshi, Kotesvara or Dhvajeshvara, Kroda or Sankaranarayana and Gokarna. Mookambika Temple in Karnataka dates back to mythological era. According to the legend the Divine Power assembled the powers of the God and fought against Kaumasura and killed him. The demon king was robbed of his ability to speak by the goddess so that he is unable to ask for a boon from Lord Shiva. From then onwards he was also called Mookasura. The demon is slain by the Devi. This is how Shakti acquired the name Mookambika. She is seen as a protector who fights evil powers so that the innocent may live in peace. The Swayambhulinga is of great importance, as it is believed that both the divine powers of Lord Shiva and Goddess Ambika reside in this linga. It is said that Goddess Lakshmi, Parvathi and Saraswati have merged in the left side and the Lord Parameshwara, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma on the right side.

The names of the goddess of the temple and of the village are explained in terms of Puranic legends. According to the Skanda Purana, the village was originally called Maharanyapura. It was the dwelling place of many sages including Kola. It is said that Kola was advised by Lord Siva to worship Parasakthi here. In due course, a linga emerged there of its own accord. Lord Shiva asked him to worship it and also added that in good time, Parasakthi would appear there as Mahalakshmi. The village got its present name Kollur from Kolpura, which itself displaced Maharanyapura.

It is believed that Sri Sankara worshipped in Kollur and that the Goddess came to give him `darshana`. It is also said that he installed the image of the goddess in the temple. The room near the sanctum, where he had darshana of the Devi is known as `Sri Sankara Simhasanam`. He is said to have entered the temple through the western gate of the temple for the first time. So, this gate is not opened except on special occasions. There is spacious prakara or circumambulatory passage in front of the eastern gate, which contains a number of shrines.

There are two schools of worshipping the goddess-Vathula and Vijaya Yagama Shastra. The first one comprise of sacrifice. There are 5 different pujas that take place daily--Dantadavana, morning, afternoon, pradhosha (evening) and night. Muslims also visit this temple on a special day. There are two main festivals that are celebrated here "Sharannavarathri" held in October and "Brahma Rathotsava" held in March. Several people consecrate to the Goddess for realizing their wishes. Another feature of Mookambika Temple is the unique collection of ornaments of the goddess. Many of them have been received as gifts from devotees. Of these the most talked about is an emerald jewel. Emeralds according to Hindu traditions represent knowledge. Besides, a sword and a gold facemask are also exclusive pieces of jewelries.

Pilgrims and devotees visiting the Sri Mookambika temple offer prayers at the Virabhadra shrine before going to the Goddess. The self-created linga can be seen in front of the image of the Goddess. This linga is divided into two equal parts by a golden line, which is visible in sunlight deflected from a mirror. The divisions had a mystic significance. To reach Mookambika Temple cars are available from Mangalore and Bengaluru. The nearest railway station is at Baindur.