ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ - Kshanaprabhaa

Well, a Hoysala Temple Write-Up after a long time, and not entirely "Hoysala" for that matter too. This is a long pending blog post about the temple that stands as testimony to "the handing over of the baton", so to speak, from the Kalyani Chalukya Architecture to the Hoysala Architecture - The Kedareshwara Temple in Balligave , Shikaripura Taluk in Shivamogga . The town of Balligave must be celebrated as one of the most important centers of art and architecture in the history of Karnataka. After all, this is the birth place of Shantala Devi , a great exponent of the traditional Indian dance forms, a devout Jain, and the Queen of Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana . This is where the best of the sculptors of the later Kalyani Chalukya era and the initial Hoysala era hailed from - Dasoja, Malloja, Maniyoja, Siddoja, Nadoja and more. This is where they got their hands on a huge mine of soapstone (Chlorite Schist) that took the beauty and the possibilities of int...

"ಹಾನಗಲ್" ಎಂದಾಕ್ಷಣ ನೆನಪಾಗುವುದು ಹಿಂದೂಸ್ತಾನಿ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಗೀತದ ದಂತಕಥೆ ಸ್ವರಶಿರೋಮಣಿ ಗಂಗೂಬಾಯಿ ಹಾನಗಲ್ ಅವರು. ಹೌದು, ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಜಗತ್ತಿನಾದ್ಯಂತ ಹಿಂದೂಸ್ತಾನಿ ಗಾಯನದ ಖ್ಯಾತಿಯನ್ನು ಪಸರಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಮಹತ್ತರ ಪಾತ್ರ ವಹಿಸಿದ ಗಂಗೂಬಾಯಿಯವರ ಹುಟ್ಟೂರು ಈ ಹಾನಗಲ್ - ಈಗಿನ ಹಾವೇರಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ತಾಲ್ಲೂಕು ಕೇಂದ್ರ. ಇದೇ ಊರು ಒಂದು ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಭಾರತದ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ರಾಜಮನೆತನಗಳ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠೆಯ ಬೀಡಾಗಿತ್ತೆಂಬುದೂ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಸತ್ಯ. ಸಾವಿರಾರು ವರುಷಗಳ ಇತಿಹಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾನುಂಗಲ್, ಹಾನುಂಗಲ್ಲು, ಹಾನಗಲ್ಲು ಎಂದೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕರೆಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಈ ಊರು ಕದಂಬ, ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಿ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಹೊಯ್ಸಳ ರಾಜಸಂಸ್ಥಾನಗಳ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಾಧಾನ್ಯದ ಉತ್ತುಂಗದಲ್ಲಿತ್ತು. ಹಾನಗಲ್ ಕೋಟೆಯನ್ನು ವಶಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದರ ಮೂಲಕವೇ ಹೊಯ್ಸಳ ದೊರೆಗಳಾದ ವಿಷ್ಣುವರ್ಧನ ಮತ್ತು ಎರಡನೇ ವೀರ ಬಲ್ಲಾಳರು ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಿ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯರ ಸಾಮಂತಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ಹೊರಬರುವ ಮತ್ತು ತಮ್ಮದೇ ಆದ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸುವ ಕೆಚ್ಚು ತೋರಿದ್ದು. ಹೀಗೆ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಇತಿಹಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾನಗಲ್ಲಿನ ಪಾತ್ರ ಅವಿಸ್ಮರಣೀಯ. ಇಂತಹ ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಜಾಡು ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಹಾನಗಲ್ಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ೧೧ರಿಂದ ೧೩ನೇ ಶತಮಾನಗಳವರೆಗೆ ರಾಜಮನೆತನಗಳು ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿದ ದೇವಾಲಯಗಳೂ ಹಲವಿವೆ. ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ಶಿಲ್ಪಕಲ...

So many stunningly beautiful temples of the Hoysala period stay far away from the spotlight, but stand tall when it comes to their architectural and symmetric brilliance. The small town of Vighnasante near Turuvekere in Tumkur district of Karnataka does not only have an exotic sounding name, but is also home to the trikuta Lakshmi Narasimha Temple built in 1286 AD , during the reign of the Hoysala ruler Narasimha III . The three brothers, Appayya, Gopala and Madhava, generals in the army of Narasimha III, have been identified as the ones who have sanctioned and contributed towards building this temple according to the inscriptions available. The temple is a lesson in symmetry, and though the outer walls are devoid of any great carvings that are found normally in the Mallitamma era of temples, the friezes on top of these walls do not fail to enthrall a visitor. Catching the eyes right away is the statue of Garuda holding a snake right at the top central kirtimukha in fro...

A couple of hundred meters away from the Moola Sindheshwara Temple at Bellur is the Adi Madhavaraya Temple , continuing the tradition of Hoysalas building both Shaivite and Vaishnavite temples at the same place indicating religious harmony of their times. In fact, further justifying this, just a kilometer away from these two temples, there was also a Parshvanatha Jain Temple too, built during their times. But I could not succeed in tracking down the Basadi (or any remains of it, near Yalladahalli, next to Bellur). Coming back to the Adi Madhavaraya Temple, it is believed to have been built around 1284 AD , and although it has received some updates in the post Hoysala era and some more paintings of late, its typical Hoysala structure still remains on the outer walls. Less ornate, the temple houses the Madhava statue in its main sanctum. The temple also houses the slightly disunited statues of Venugopala and Lakshmi Narayana, moved here from the Moola Sindheshwara Temple. The ...

Part of the double temple complex mentioned in the previous blog entry about the Mallikarjuna Temple , the Rameshwara Temple at Nadakalasi is less extravagant, but equally well decorated, and has, to its credit, a stunning Sala slaying the lion statue next to its Shikhara. Nadakalasi's closeness to Sagara hasn't still ensured its visibility on the tourist map, although, equally closer towns of Keladi and Ikkeri enjoy better recall among visitors. The main deity is the Rameshwara Linga, but it has been referred to as Sadashiva in the past. Again, this temple has been identified as having been constructed by Baleyanna Vergade around 1218 AD , during Veera Ballala II 's reign. Here's a video: Rameshwara Temple, Nadakalasi from hmvprasanna on Vimeo .

Nadakalasi is a small village about 8 kilometers away from Sagara in Shivamogga district of Karnataka. Hidden in its densely populated flora and fauna is a temple complex from the Hoysala times. Baleyanna Vergade (Heggade), a local ruler who had accepted the mighty Hoysalas as the overseeing authority of his regions during that time, has constructed two temples next to each other in 1218 AD , during the rule of Veera Ballala II.  The temples are a mix of Hoysala and Dravidian temple architectures, but the Hoysala influences are there to be seen in abundance. The larger of the two temples is the Mallikarjuna Temple dedicated to the Mallikarjuna Shiva Linga in its only sanctum sanctorum. A highlight of this temple are the stunningly smooth looking lathe turned pillars inside. They seem to have such a fine finish despite the fact that the stones used don't appear to be the best quality soap stones that we witness at Belur or Belavadi. The main shikhara is of Kadamba Na...

Right next to the Channakeshava Temple , as its mirror image, is the Nageshwara Temple in the village of Mosale near Hassan. Slightly taller and slightly more intricately carved on the outside compared ti the Channakeshava Temple, the Nageshwara temple also has a more attractive stone kalasha as well as multiple statues of Sala slaying the lion in different shapes and sizes all around the temple. The year of construction is believed to be 1200 AD under the reign of Veera Ballala II, with the temple covered with statues of the 24 forms of Vishnu, his 10 incarnations, Mahishamardhini, Saraswati and more, despite the main sanctum housing the Shiva linga of Nageshwara. Here's a video: Nageshwara Temple, Mosale from hmvprasanna on Vimeo .

About 10 kilometers from the city of Hassan on the way towards Holenarasipur is the village of Mosale - one half of the twin villages of Mosale and Hosahalli. Mosale houses two of the most stunning Hoysala architectural beauties that very few people are aware of. Known as the twin temple complex of Nageshwara and Channakeshava, both  the temples have their own individual brilliance to exude, while being remarkably similar to each other to the extent that one would feel they are mirror images of each other. Focus of this blog post is the Channakeshava Temple , built in 1200 AD by Emperor Veera Ballala II . The temple is a clear indication of the beginning of the golden era of the Mallitamma school of handsome and intricate carvings on the outer walls, while the Bhuvaneshwaris on the inner ceilings continue to take your breath away. The huge stone Kalasas are a real specialty too. I happened to visit the place around dusk, and the setting sun gave it a beauty that ca...

The Kaitabheshvara Temple , also known as the Kotishwara Temple , is situated in the town of Kubatur, near Anavatti in Shimoga district of Karnataka. The temple is in fact on the outskirts of both Kubatur and Kotipura , and is only about 25 kilometers away from the historically important town of Hanagal . The temple is one of the earliest constructed duri ng the Hoysala Empire, this one in  1100 AD , towards the end of the reign of king Vinayaditya (grand father of Vishnuvardhana), the second ruler of their lineage. While the "Hoysala Arcitecture" was still a developing concept and design at that time, this temple borrows a lot from the Later Chalukyan style. The main deity is the Shiva Linga of Kotishwara or Kaitabheshwara, while just outside the sanctum sanctorum, one can see a Ganesha statue as well as a Keshava statue. The large area inside the temple has 5 entrances, and is adorned with finely lathe turned soapstone pillars.  The main inner ceiling is ...

Bellur is a town on the outskirts of the Bangalore - Mangalore national highway approaching Channarayapatna, and it belongs to the district of Mandya, Karnataka. In addition to the similarity of its name to the Hoysala city of grandeur, Belur, this town also hosts a few temples from that period, some of which have been completely rebuilt or have gotten destroyed over a period of time. One of them that still stands is the Moola Sindheshwara Temple , constructed in 1224 AD according to the inscriptions available, during the reign of King Veera Ballala II . Situated at a quiet corner of the town next to the "Gowri Pond", this temple is a trikuta temple, which has been renovated in parts recently. Historically, the temple had, in its three sanctum sanctorums, the idols of Sindheshwara (a Shiva Linga), Lakshmi Narayana and Venugopala , again signifying the peaceful co-existence of the Shaivaite and Vishnavite beliefs. Currently only the Sindheshwara linga remains, wh...

Near Gandasi Hand Post and belonging to Arasikere Taluk of Karnataka, and 3 kilometers from the Arasikere - Tiptur road is the village of Hullekere . This silent town has a beautiful Channakeshava Temple built during the Hoysala Empire. The period of the temple ( 1163 AD ) indicates that this was built during the reign of king Narasimha I, but like many other temples of their time, this one too received a lot of contributions by his son, king Veera Ballala II. This temple is a simple ekakuta complex surrounded with a large pillared circum-ambulating platform further away from the temple structure itself, much like what can be seen at Belur and Somanathapura. In fact, it holds much closer similarity with the Channakeshava Temple at Anekere . This temple looks like an exact replica of the Anekere temple, but with an enormous amount of carvings on the outer walls compared to the one at Anekere. Although simple and well structured, the Anekere temple surprises you with its lack of in...

Nagamangala , which is a Panchayat town in Mandya district of Karnataka, hosts the majestic Sowmyakeshava Temple at the heart of the town. The temple was constructed around 1170 AD according to the available records, which dates this back to the period of Hoysala ruler Narasimha I , son of Vishnuvardhana. But the temple got great patronage from his son, emperor Veera Ballala II . The temple is a trikuta architecture, with the calm Keshava statue adorning the central sanctum and Lakshmi Narasimha and Venugopala making up the other two sanctums. There are intricate carvings inside the temple all around the navaranga and the pillars, while the outer style denotes nagara style of architecture. A huge entrance Gopura and the shrine on top of the main sanctum have been rebuilt later, in the Vijayanagara style. The main attraction within the temple where daily puja is still conducted with the same fanfare as can be seen at Belur, is the image of "Naga" the snake head righ...

Arakere is a small village close to Banavara near Arasikere in Hassan district, Karnataka. It houses a little known, slightly different looking temple of the Hoysala period, dedicated to the main Vishnu deity of those times, Channakeshava. This is a trikuta temple with the other two sanctums housing Venugopala and Lakshminarasimha as usual. The outer walls of the temple do have carvings of various gods, but the lack of precision that we are used to among the temples constructed under the guidance of Mallitamma the sculptor becomes very evident right from the outset. As the exact time of the temple construction is not known, it can be guessed that it was built just before or just after Mallitamma's peak period as a sculptor. Nevertheless, the carvings have their own beauty, and the main deities are as beautiful as you would see anywhere else among the Hoysala temples. In fact, you must see the statue of Channakeshava here to believe how beautiful it can be. After all, Ch...

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 ha...

Just a few hundred meters from the Channakeshava temple at Haranahalli , is the less maintained but equally well ornated Someshwara Temple . The temple is an ekakuta shrine hosting the Someshwara Linga in the main sanctum sanctorum, and is believed to have been constructed at the same time period of the Keshava temple, in 1234 AD , by brothers Peddanna, Somanna and Keshanna. Sculptor Mallitamma's magical hands are at work here too. A video of created out of some pictures taken in and around the temple: Someshwara Temple, Haranahalli from hmvprasanna on Vimeo .

Hosaholalu is a village that has now become part of the extended town of Krishnarajapete (K. R. Pet), and it houses possibly the best carved Hoysala temple in the district of Mandya. Astonishingly, not much information is available about the temple and as to who commissioned it, but it is established that it was built around 1250 AD during the reign of King Vira Someshwara . Giving further credence to this belief is the design of the temple and the beauty of the carvings on the outer walls, which are extremely similar to the temples in Somanathapura, Nuggehalli, Javagal and Haranahalli, thus leading us to believe that this too was the work of magical sculptor Mallitamma , whose work peaked during this period. The temple itself is of trikuta shrine with three sanctum sanctorums, with the main deity being Lakshminarayana . and other sanctums dedicated to Venugopala and Laksmi Narasimha . The outer carvings are exquisite, with the usual brilliance coming through in the car...

The village of Haranahalli is eight kilometers from Arasikere on the way to Hassan, and it is home to two temples from the Hoysala era. The more popular, complete and the better maintained one, thanks to the initiatives of the local folks and the current Archak Sri Nagendra, is the Channakeshava Temple, or the one that is more popular as the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple. This trikuta temple has Channakeshava, Venugopala and Lakshmi Narasimha as the main deities in its sanctum sanctorums, and all around, has brilliant incarnations along the walls and on the shrines, indicative of the times of celebrated sculptor Mallitamma . The temple was built in 1234 AD according to the available inscriptions, by the brothers Peddanna, Somanna and Keshanna. The place is believed to be known as Hiriya Somanathapura earlier, and the temple has received major contributions from Hoysala king Veera Narasimha II. The specialty of the temple is in the main Bhuvaneshwari, where the customary b...

There is a charm about this temple that one can't find in many other temples of the Hoysala period, and that is evident right at the very first glance. The Sadashiva Temple at Nuggehalli , a town on the Channarayapatna-Tiptur state highway, is a rare architecture built with a Bhumija style shrine that is more popular in Western India. Also known as the Hoysala Nagara style, there is an inevitable ultra modern look to the main ekakuta shrine that almost reminds you of some spaceship that has just landed. The remarkable nature of the shrine is in its symmetry, which is the hallmark of Hoysala architecture, irrespective of the style they have followed. The temple was constructed in 1249 AD by Bommanna Dandanayaka , a commander in the court of Hoysala king Veera Someshwara . Nuggehalli was definitely an important hub of that period, with another major architectural marvel, Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, also coming up around the same time there. The place was a happening agrah...

After a wait of nearly five long years since I first began my Hoysala expeditions, and after having lived just 6 kilometers away from the place all through my childhood, this was the first time I was visiting Anekere and the Channakeshava Temple situated in this little sleepy hamlet. This temple belonging to the Hoysala period (built around 1119 AD according to the inscriptions available) near the town of Channarayapatna in Hassan District of Karnataka appears to be one of the first attempts at measuring the potential of extravagant carvings that is common in the architectures erected during the time.  Simple, yet complete, this ekakuta (single main shrine) temple housing Lord Channakeshava in its sanctum, is specifically attractive for three reasons. One is the completeness of the temple complex with the surrounding veranda of  pillar-supported circumambulating platform. Second, the huge stone carved kalasha on top of  the vimana gopura above the main sanctu...

This Mallikarjuna Temple in the town of Basaralu in Madya district of Karnataka has made it into the short list of 15 must visit Hoysala temples in the seminal book "A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples" by Gerard Foekema, and just one glimpse at the temple would tell you why. As Foekema touches on the "completeness" of the temples, and states that there are these other temples from the Hoysala period which are far more "complete" in terms of plan, execution, symmetry and carvings than the more celebrated temples at Belur and Halebidu, the Mallikarjuna Temple at Basaralu holds a mirror to his observations. Situated on the road from Nagamangala to Mandya, this little known town's only shot at fame is this temple constructed in 1234 AD , under the reign of Veera Narasimha the II , by the king's commander in memory of his father Malleyanayaka. The Mallikarjuna Shiva Linga inside the main sanctum is said to have been brought in from Srisailam and...