ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ - Kshanaprabhaa

Another Hoysala temple at Turuvekere that is contemporary to the Channakeshava temple is the Moole Shankara temple. This clearly brings out the religious harmony that existed during the Hoysala reign, with both the Vishnu and Shiva shrines built close to each other at pretty much the same period. "Moole" in Kannada means "corner", and the temple, as with many other Hoysala temples, is at a corner of the Turuvekere town. Here is the photo compilation of the temple: Moole Shankara Temple, Turuvekere from hmvprasanna on Vimeo .

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, Tu...

Another temple of the Hoysala period standing adjacent to the Channakeshava temple at Kaidala is the Gangadhareshwara Temple . It looks as though this temple was never completed, and the grills and the doors have been installed afterwards, along with other enhancements. A possible recent land dispute has meant that the temple is closed for the visitors. From what is visible from outside, the temple has 4 beautifully carved pillars, and two inscriptions of great historical value, which are all gathering dust due to the neglect. Here is a little video of the snaps I took at the temple: Gangadhareshwara Temple, Kaidala from hmvprasanna on Vimeo . Similar stories of Hoysala Expedition

My quest of Hoysala temples took me to the district of Tumkur last weekend, to a village named Kaidala to be exact. The little temple of 1151 AD in this village is one of great heritage. Legendary sculptor of Hoysala period, Jakkanachari, is believed to have built this temple at a ripe old age of 86, with the help of his son Dankana. The beautiful statue of Channakeshava that is being worshiped even today, is supposedly his last work of art. The temple was built at his home town of Kreedapura, which is now known as Kaidala. The name Kaidala is due to the legend that says that Jakkana got back his hand ("Kai" in Kannada) that he had severed after a flaw had been found by his son Dankana in the Channakeshava statue he had sculpted at Belur. There is a little statue on the wall of the this temple of Kaidala, and it is believed to be depicting Jakkana and his son. As usual, here is a compilation of some pictures I took at the temple premises: Channakeshava Temple...

Last weekend marked a visit to Somanathapura, a village near Mysore, home to one of the most famous temples ever built under the reign of the Hoysalas. It is a prime example for the grandeur of the Hoysala style of architecture. The temple is known to have been built in 1268 AD , during the time of King Narasimha III , by his commander Soma. Mallithamma was the leading architect of the temple, which also had great contributions from Masanatamma, Bameya, Chameya, and other noted sculptors. This trikutachala temple is home to the deities of Keshava, Janardana and Venugopala, and the outer walls of the temple are adorned with tens of hundreds of neatly carved images. With me on this trip was Karthik, who has been equally fascinated by the historical and the architectural aspects of the Hoysala temples, and the best part was that we did not know how to reach Somanathapura until we got down there! Now that we have been there, if you are relying on the public transport, the best rou...

The beauty of Raga Charukeshi has captivated me in the last couple months. This raga, which originated in Carnatic music, has made its way into Hindustani as well. The raga has been used to depict various moods, mainly the pinnacle of Bhakti. It also renders itself very well to both ecstasy and sorrow, which not many ragas can manage as seamlessly as Charukeshi. I have been digging into many of the songs and renditions of Charukeshi in carnatic music, hindustani, dhrupad as well as movie songs. Here is a collection. The favorite being the fusion by Anoushka Shankar and Nitin Sawhney. 1. Carnatic: Adamodi Galade sung by Charulatha Mani , where the composer, Saint Tyagaraja , begs Lord Rama to speak to him: 2. Movie: Song Shyam Teri Bansi Pukare from the movie Geet Gata Chal (1975) 3. Movie: Kripaya Palaya Shoure composed by Swathi Thirunal , rendered by the legendary K. J. Yesudas , in the Malayalam movie "Swathi Thirunal". 4. Hin...

On the same day as my Kikkeri Brahmeshwara Temple visit, I had visited this huge and attractive Panchalingeshwara Temple , situated just 5 kms away from the town of Kikkeri. The village that is host to this majestic temple is Govindanahalli, which also belongs to Mandya district, and seems to be lost from all the modernization that the rest of the world has seen. This 1237 AD Hoysala temple is built on the outskirts of this small village, surrounded by large paddy fields and coconut plantations, adding to its ageless beauty. The temple is dedicated to the 5 aspects or facets of Lord Shiva, which are, Sadyojata (for the western direction), Vamadeva (for the northern direction), Aghora (for the southern direction), Tatpurusha (for the eastern direction), and Ishana (for the skywards direction). Each of these 5 aspects of Shiva have a separate sanctum sanctorum of their own, and each of them are connected through one enormously elongated Navaranga. Inside this large hall, one...