Hoysala Expedition Part 7: Channakeshava Temple, Turuvekere

I could resurrect my Hoysala expedition last weekend after a gap of almost 2 months, and this time, the town in focus was Turuvekere, a panchayat town in Tumkur district of Karnataka. The town has two temples clearly mapped to the Hoysala period, and one of them is the Channakeshava Temple that stands amongst the old Agrahara rows of houses at a corner of the fast developing town.


Construction of the temple is known to have begun in 1258 AD, during the reign of the Hoysala king Narasimha the 3rd. His well known Commander in Chief Somanna (most likely the same famous commander who built the Somanathapura temple) has played an instrumental role in the temple getting built. This ekakuta temple hosts the statue of Channakeshava, which, although not as big as the ones found inside the sanctum sanctorums of Somanathapura, Belur or Kaidala, boasts of its own beauty and perfection.

As usual, here is a video compilation of the photos I took at the temple:


Channakeshava Temple, Turuvekere from hmvprasanna on Vimeo.


Comments

Unknown said…
Good description of the temple and a lovely video of the Channakeshava temple. It brought back memories (I was in Turuvekere betwen 1975 to 1980). Thanks for sharing this.