ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ - Kshanaprabhaa

The Veera Narayana temple at Belavadi, a village in Chikkamagalur district of Karnataka, is an epitome of symmetry. This trikuta Hoysala temple built in 1206 AD, houses Veera Narayana as the main deity, with Venugopala and Yoganarasimha in the the other two sanctum sanctorums. The temple is characterized by over a hundred neatly carved and designed pillars, and a lot of elephant statues of various shapes and sizes. The Tulunadu style enclosure at the entrance and the stone roof tops of the main temple are unique to this temple, and the statues of the three deities are outstandingly beautiful. Although the Channakeshava temple of Belur, Hoysaleshwara temple of Halebidu and Keshava temple of Somanathapura come right up in th list of the most beautiful temples of Hoysala period and architecture, this temple at Belavadi is in no way inferior to any of the former three. The village itself has its place in mythology, with the Ekachakranagara of Mahabharata times, where Bakasu...

Continuing from Part 1 , here is more from the cultural programmes that happened on the sidelines of the World Samskrit Book Fair . On Saturday, 8th January, 2011, 1003rd edition of "Kavyachitra" was conducted at the Kuvempu Kalakshetra, Bangalore, in association with Samskara Bharati and Abhinaya Bharati. Kavyachitra refers to a cultural entertainment model where a poet and an artist take up challenges from each other, audience, and experts to create poetry and paintings on the spot. Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh was in charge of the "Kavya" part with Artist B. K. S. Varma took up "Chitra". Varma is credited with making painting, a form of "performing art". Some pictures (click on them for larger versions) and videos from the mesmerizing two hour event are below: Pictures: 1. Varma drawing Sarswati using colour soaked thread: 2. R. Ganesh concentrating on Varma's masterly work: 3. Flautist Venugopal also forgets to play his flute, enchanted...

I had been to the World Samskrit Book Fair that is going on at Bangalore from 6th to 10th January, 2011, and here are some updates from that: On 6th January 2011, day 1 of the fair, "Jnanaganga", an exhibition on the knowledge heritage of India was inaugurated by former India cricket captain Anil Kumble , and a model of "Samskrit Village" , where all interactions happen through Samskrit, was inaugurated by Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri , the primary and secondary education minister of the Govt. Of Karnataka. Also attending the occation were N. Gopalaswamy , former Chief Election Commisioner of India, and industrialst Sadanand Mayya . Also at the end of day one, was classical singing by Vidwan Vidyabhushana. Photos from the formal function (click on images for enlarged versions): Photos of the Samskrit Village and Exhibitions (click on images for enlarged versions): Video of Anil Kumble's speech (some unavoidable movements while recording) Anil ...

Chatachattahalli , a village situated about 5 kilometers away from Halebidu, boasts of an old Hoysala temple, believed to be constructed by Chattaiah Perumale , who held a notable position in the Hoysala kingdom. The temple, which is a Trikuta architecture, has Chatteshwara as its main deity, and also contains Suryanarayana and Harihara in other two sanctum sanctorums. The temple though, is currently in deplorable condition, and with no care being taken, this piece of history is slowly collapsing to obscurity. EDIT: The temple was restored around 2013, with efforts from Shri Haranahalli Nagendra and others, striving to ensure that the historical monuments and temples in and around Hassan district survive for the upcoming generations. Here is the video compilation: Chatteshwara Temple, Chatachattahalli from hmvprasanna on Vimeo .

Basadihalli, which now appears as a separate village on the outskirts of Halebidu, was very much part of the capital city "Dwaravati" or "Dwarasamudra" of the Hoysala dynasty. Devout Jains right from the beginning, Hoysalas had constructed and nurtured hundreds of Jinalayas during their reign. Very few of them have stood the test of time. The three temples in the Basadihalli Jain temple complex date back to 12th Centiry AD, with the construction beginning during the reign of Vishnuvardhana. The Parshwanatha Basadi, also known as "Vijaya Parshwanatha Jinalaya" due to the fact that Vishnuvardhana's victory in Bankapura coincided with the inauguration of the temple, was constructed in the honour of the much respected Hoysala commander in chief Ganga Raja . His son Boppadeva was instrumental in getting this built. The statue of Parshwanatha, about 18 feet tall, looks stunning even today, with a seven headed serpent carved in such a way that it is pro...

Kondajji, a little village situated about 17 kms from Hassan, is home to a 14th century temple of Varadaraja Swamy , also called Allalanatha. Legend has it that this extraordinarily beautiful 11 feet tall image of Varadaraja, a form of Vishnu's Janardana aspect, was on its way to Belur, for it to be enshrined at the Channakeshava temple complex. But for some reason, it could not make it all the way, and was apparently running the risk of being deserted. An old lady (Ajji, which means grand mother in Kannada) decided to buy the statue and establish it in a temple at that place, and hence, it is believed that the village got the name "Kondajji" (Konda + Ajji). Although the story stated above is linked to the times of Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana and Shantala, the fact that it is a statue of 14th century would mean that this might have occurred during the reign of Ballala the Third. The statue itself is mesmarizingly beautiful, and the temple, as expected, does not hav...

Although well known as the native place of former India cricketer Javagal Srinath , the village of Javagal in the Arasikere taluk of Hassan district, Karnataka has managed to remain out of limelight. Even the presence of a 1250 AD Hoysala architectural masterpiece in the form of a Lakshmi Narasimha Temple has not managed to draw the attention of tourists. This trikuta temple is home to Lakshmi Narasimha, Veera Narayana and Venugopala in its three sanctum sanctorums, and on the outer walls, carvings of the ten incarnations of Vishnu, Dancing Saraswati, Lakshmi, Indra, and others can be seen. Mallitamma, the genius sculptor of this era, is believed to be the the chief architect of the temple. Here are some pictures of the temple: Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Javagal from hmvprasanna on Vimeo .