Santhoshimatha is the goddess of happiness. It is said that Lord Ganesha created Goddess Jai Santhoshima on the auspicious day of Raksha Bandhan – a festival where a sister ties a string bracelet on her brother’s hand praying for his well being and her brother vows to protect and take care of her. Lord Ganesha’s sons insisted on celebrating Raksha Bandhan although they did not have a sister. Lord Ganesha on the insistence of his sons and wives decided to please them and gave rise to the beautiful goddess Jai Santhoshima. She then came to be known as the goddess of satisfaction.
We became devotees of Jai Santhoshimatha during the year 1976. In the year 1989 we decided to construct the temple on our privately owned site at Arekere, Bannergatta road, Bangalore. We laid the foundation in December 1989 and completed construction of the temple in the year 1991 and the first Kumbabhishakam was performed in July 1991. Since then, regular pujas are being performed on a grand scale with the blessings of Jai Santhoshimatha. As the number of devotees started growing in number, we had to restructure and expand the temple premises. This expansion project was completed in the year 2003 june and Kumbabishekam was performed in June 2003 on a grand scale
A full time priest dedicated to the temple service performs regular morning and evening pujas. Satyanarayana puja and Sankatahara chathurthi are performed every month. Friday is an auspicious day for Goddess. Abhishekam along with special alankaram (decoration) for the Goddess is performed on this day. Special prasadam is distributed to all devotees on Friday. Any offering to Goddess should not contain sour(such as tamarind, citric fruits and vegetables) and this is followed with strict adherence.
Navarathri is celebrated on a grand scale and every year a large number of devotees from all over come to seek the blessings of Goddess Santhoshima during this auspicious time. Daily special pujas, homas and cultural programmes are held within the temple premises during all 9 days of the festival.