Chamundi Temple is held holier because there resides the Divine Goddess, Chamundeswari, one of the forms of Kali. A temple of great antiquity, it has a historical background of over 1,000 years. It was a small shrine, where human and animal sacrifices were common in old times. However, they were totally stopped from 18th century onwards. The temple assumed significance after the Mysore Maharajas, the Wodeyars, came to power in 1399 A.D. Great devotees and worshippers of Devi, Chamundeswari became their home deity. Krishnaraja Wodeyar III repaired the shrine in 1827 and built the present beautiful tower at the entrance (Gopura). Blessed by the Goddess, Krishnaraja Wodeyar, an ardent devotee of the mother Goddess, presented to the temple a Simha-vahana (A lion-shaped vehicle) and other animal cars and jewels of value. The cars are used even today for processions on special religious days. Besides the tall Gopura, the temple, which is a quadrangular structure, has a Vimana (small tower) on the sanctum sanctorum, a massive wooden door,and inside small shrines of Ganesha and Anjaneya, flag staff, inner enclosures like Navaranga and the sanctum sanctorum.