Veeranarayana Temple, Belavadi

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Keywords: Hoysala Temples, Veeranarayana Temple, Belavadi

Belavadi is just a few kilometres away from Halebidu.

Location: Veeranarayana Temple, Belavadi

The Veera Narayana temple is located in Belavadi, a village in the Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka state, India. The temple was built during the rule of the Hoysala Empire. Known to legend as Ekachakranagara, Belavadi is said to be the place mentioned in Mahabharatha where Pandava prince Bheema killed the demon Bakasura and protected the village and its people. This ornate trikuta (three shrined) temple was built in 1200 C.E. by Hoysala Empire King Veera Ballala II. The material used is Soapstone.




The central shrine (older shrine) has an 8 ft (2.4 m) tall image of Narayana with four hands and is considered one of the best examples of Hoysala art. It is well elaborated with ornamentation and stands on a padmasana (lotus seat). The southern shrine has an 8 ft (2.4 m) tall image of Venugopala (the god Krishna playing a flute) including a garuda pedestal and the northern shrine has a 7 ft (2.1 m) tall image of Yoganarasimha, sitting in a yoga posture. 


The Vimana structure of the gopura is a splendid feature of the Hoysala architecture and commonly seen in many of the popular temples.


The view of the outer mantapa and inner mantapa.



Domical Bay ceiling at the outer mantapa.


(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veera_Narayana_Temple,_Belavadi)

After spending some time in Belavadi, we headed towards Marle which is further towards Chikmagalur.







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