Chennakeshava Temple, Kaidala

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Hoysala Heritage Trip - 2

After the first successful heritage trip, I did some research on hoysala temples located in Tumkur-Arasikere belt. This time i was accompanied by one of my childhood friend Madhu. We started at 5:30 A. M to avoid traffic at Yeshwantpur. We had breakfast around 7:00 A. M on the way and crossed Tumkur and headed to Kaidala.

Keywords: Hoysala Temples, Chennakeshava Temple, Kaidala

Chennakeshava Temple, Kaidala

 Location: Kaidala

The Chenna Keshava temple and the Gangadareshwara temple in Kaidala in Tumkur district were built by Gule Bachi, a chieftain of the Hoysala King Narasimha I in 1150 AD as per the stone inscriptions in Hale Kannada found in the Gangadareshwara temple. The complete temple complex has a tall fort-like wall or Prakara around it.



The Mahadwara or the Gateway Gopuram is a three-tiered massive structure with beautiful carvings and the large doorway is flanked by pillars with beautifully carved relief works of nubile dancing girls, sages, gods and goddesses.


On the right pillar is an image of Chenna Keshava, similar to the idol in the Garbagriha, along with his consorts on the side panels. On the left pillar is a 11 ft tall figure of a person with folded hands which some people say is that of the celebrated sculptor Jakanachari while others claim it as that of the Chieftain Gule Bachi.


There is a beautiful Chenna Keshava in monolithic black stone (Krishna Shile) installed in the Garbhagriha. 


Amarashilpi Jakanachari
Amarashilpi Jakanacharya was a legendary sculptor credited with building many fine temples for the Kalyani Chalukyas and Hoysalas. He left home shortly after his marriage seeking fame in his field of work. He travelled far and wide building many temples and became so engrossed in his work that he forgot all about his wife. Jakanacharya's wife gave birth to his child, named Dankanacharya. Dankanacharya himself grew up to become a famous sculptor and set out to find his father. At Belur, he found a job as a sculptor and noticed a flaw in a figure sculpted by the great Jakanacharya himself. Dankanacharya told Jakanacharya that the stone which he was carving had a toad living inside which was a considered to be a flaw by the sculptors. Furious at this, Jakanacharya challenged to cut off his right hand if the young sculptor was correct in his assessment of the sculpture. Dankanacharya chiselled the place where the flaw was present and a toad jumped out with a little water flowing from that spot. Upon testing the figure, the flaw was indeed revealed and Jakanacharya kept his promise and cut off his right hand. Eventually, the two sculptors become aware of their relationship as father and son. Subsequently, Jakanacharya received a vision to build the Chennakeshava temple in his native place Kridapura. After this was completed, legend has it that God restored his right hand. In celebration of this incident, Kridapura was henceforth called Kaidala. The term Kai in Kannada means "hand".
Jakanachari started his art work from the ChennaKeshava temple at Somnathpura, Mysore district. The sculptures were crafted by the Jakanacheri under the Hoysala king Narasimha and commander Soma. Impressed by his amazing craftsmanship, he won several contracts to be built under the Hoysalas in Hassan district, Chikamagalur district and Mandya district; the remains of which can be seen and admired today. One of the biggest pieces of his excellence came when he was involved in the contruction of the majestic Chennakeshava temple in Belur.

(Source: http://hoysalatemple.blogspot.in/2010/08/chenna-kesava-temple-1150-ad-kaidala.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarashilpi_Jakanachari)







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