page_title: Kanaka Durga Temple
section_title: Goddess legend
hierarchical_section_title: Kanaka Durga Temple / Goddess legend
caption_attribution_description: English: Kanaka Durga Temple is a famous hindu Temple of Goddess Durga located in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The temple is located on the Indrakeeladri hill, on the banks of Krishna River.
context_page_description: Kanaka Durga Temple is a famous hindu Temple of Goddess Durga located in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The temple is located on the Indrakeeladri hill, on the banks of Krishna River. Kaalika puraana, Durgaa sapthashati and other vedic literature have mentioned about Goddess Kanaka Durga on the Indrakeelaadri and have described the deity as Swayambhu, in Triteeya kalpa.
context_section_description: According to a legend, the now verdant Vijayawada was once a rocky region strewn with hills that obstructed the flow of River Krishna.  The land was thus rendered unfit for habitation or cultivation.  Invocation to Lord Shiva for His intervention directed the hills to make way for the river. And  the river started flowing unimpeded with all its might, through the tunnels or "Bejjam" bored into the hills by Lord Shiva. That is how the place got its name Bezawada.
  One of the many mythologies associated with this place is that Arjuna prayed to Lord Shiva on top of Indrakeela hill to win His blessings and the city derived its name "Vijayawada" after this victory. Another popular legend is about the triumph of goddess Kanakadurga over the demon King Mahishasura. It is said that the growing menace of demons became unbearable for the natives.  Sage Indrakila practiced severe penance, and when the goddess appeared the sage pleaded Her to reside on his head and keep vigil on the wicked demons.  As per his wishes of killing the demons, Goddess Durga made Indrakila Her permanent abode.  Later, She also slayed the demon king Mahishasura freeing the people of Vijayawada from evil.
  At the Kanakadurga temple, the enchanting 4-foot-high (1.2 m) icon of the deity is bedecked in glittering ornaments and bright flowers.  Her icon here depicts Her eight-armed form -each holding a powerful weapon- in a standing posture over the demon Mahishashura and piercing him with Her trident.  The goddess is the epitome of beauty.
  Adjacent to the Kanakadurga temple is the shrine of Malleswara Swamy on the Indrakeeladri. By ascending the steps on the hill, one comes across little images of different deities, prominent among them are Kanaka Durga, Malleswara  and Krishna(River).
caption: View of temple Basement
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 700D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2016:09:01 17:37:46", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "360", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "9258", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "11148", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "11127", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "3200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "3200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:09:01 17:37:46", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:09:01 17:37:46", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "9", "EXIF ApertureValue": "45/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "250", "EXIF SubSecTime": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3456", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2304", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9030", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "576000/149", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "768000/199", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "048075003683", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[55, 250, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000308e39"}