Photograph of the Nandi bull on Chamoondee (Chamundi) Hill near Mysore in Karnataka. Nandi, the sacred bull, is the vehicle of Siva, the consort of the goddess, and symbolises great strength and virility. The massive Nandi sculpture on the road that ascends Chamundi Hill is five metres tall and the largest of its type in India. It was carved from a single rock at the command of Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar who ruled between 1659 and 1672.

The granite hill overlooking the town of Mysore is called Chamundi Hill after the goddess enshrined in the temple near its summit. Chamundi, the slayer of the demon Mahishasura, is a form of the mother goddess Shakti