Hoysala Expedition Part 35: Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Nuggehalli

If you have to pick one temple where the sculptor extraordinaire Mallitamma has left his impression in an unforgettable manner, it must be at the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Nuggehalli. Quite literally too, as he has signed off most of the images on the outer walls with his name under them. He is accompanied in building this temple by another noted sculptor of those times, Baichoja, in finishing this extravagantly beautiful trikuta temple, a few meters away from the Bhumija style temple of Sadashiva. The main deity of the temple is Lakshmi Narasimha, and it also houses Venugopala and Keshava in the other two sanctums.


One of the most remarkable aspects of this temple is the clear indication you get about the 24 aspects of Vishnu through the artistic brilliance of Mallitamma. The forms, beginning with Keshava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, etc. are all depicting the 24 different permutations in which Vishnu can hold the disc, the conch, the club and the lotus among his four hands. Mallitamma has carved the names of each form and his own signature below almost every statue. Here's a video showning those 24 forms of Vishnu (from 2:20 to 4:20) and the other stunning images of this beautiful temple constructed in 1246 AD under the reign of Hoysala king Vira Someshwara:

Comments

Manjula said…
Where is Nuggehalli? I would love to visit...

Mtvji@yahoo.com
Prasanna said…
Nuggehalli is in Hassan district of Karnataka. From Bangalore, it is about 140 kms. You take the Bangalore-Mangalore national highway and take a right at Hirisave. Or, you can go all the way till Channarayapatna on the highway and take the road towards Tiptur from there. 16 kms from Channarayapatna:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bengaluru,+Karnataka,+India/Nuggehalli,+Karnataka,+India/@13.0574295,76.8293825,10z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x3bae1670c9b44e6d:0xf8dfc3e8517e4fe0!2m2!1d77.5945627!2d12.9715987!1m5!1m1!1s0x3baff7f80dbaf9d7:0x7a779b5e781f0d07!2m2!1d76.475106!2d13.0052496
sampath said…
Excellent and informative post. I had made three trips in that area visiting well known temples, but did not know this temple. I will definitely do it in my next trip. Thank you very much.
I have visited Belur,Halebeedu and Sravanbelagola in October 2016.I the coming year I must visit Nuggehalli.
I have visited Belur,Halebeedu and Sravanbelagola in October 2016.I the coming year I must visit Nuggehalli.