By A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore
Mysuru, which the Britishers pro-nounced as My-sore, is the gift of Goddess Mahishasuramardini. According to mythology, the demon Mahishasura was tormenting the good people and was spoiling the Vedic way of life. The tormented people prayed to the Goddess and she assumed the form of a Mahisha and killed him and brought solace to the population. Hence the place came to be called as the town of Mahishamardini. That this was an ancient one is attested to by the inscriptions of Ashoka.
