Best of My Travel

Keywords: Hoysala Temples, Lakshminarayana Temple, Sindhaghatta Sindhaghatta forming part of Kaveri basin was ruled by the Gangas and succeeded respectively by the Cholas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagara and the Mysore Wodeyars. Location: Sindhaghatta Temple The temple of Lakshminarayana built upon a raised jagati is assignable to 12th  century AD non ornate variety of Hoysala style of architecture. The extent portion on plan has a square garbhagriha, asukanasi, a pillared navaranga and a pillared mandapa. The adhisthana mouldings are derived into friezes uncarved in the region of garbhagriha. The bhitti is veryaustere. The kapota is marked with offsets over which less conspicuous eave with kudu arches support an ekatala stepped pyramidal Dravida sikhara in the region of sanctum. The tala is composed of karnakutas at corners and a large sala intervened by panjara motif. A prominent griva supports a kuta stupi with finial at top. The kuta stupi sculptured with kirtimukha decoration ...

Keywords: Hoysala Temples, Sangameshwara & Jangameshwara Temple, Sindhaghatta The temple is on the lines of Aghalaya (trikuta) and Govindanahalli (panchakuta), with two Shiva linga sanctums in a row inside the same temple. One of them is identified as Sangameshwara and the other as Jangameshwara (currently). The outer walls are again uncarved, similar to the Vaishnava temple in the town, but the inner carvings - primarily the Bhuvaneshwari designs on the roof tops. The exact timeframe when the temple was built is unclear, although, it is conservatively attributed to the period of Hoysala king Ballala the 3rd, in 1299 AD. There are conflicting gazetteer entries that date the temple back to 1179 AD too, and to the times of Vishnuvardhana and Veera Ballala II. Location: Sindhaghatta Temple This is one of the most amazing shiva temples of the Hoysala period.

Keywords: Hoysala Temples, Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple, Yoga Narasimha Temple, Melukote Melukote in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka, in southern India, is one of the sacred places in Karnataka. It is built on rocky hills, known as Yadugiri, Yaadavagiri and Yadushailadeepa, overlooking the Cauvery valley. Melukote is about 51 km (32 miles) from Mysore and 133 km (83 mi) from Bangalore. Location: Melukote Melukote is the location of the Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple, with a collection of crowns and jewels which are brought to the temple for the annual celebration. On the top of the hill is the temple of Yoganarasimha. Many more shrines and ponds are located in the town. Melukote is home to the Academy of Sanskrit Research, which has collected thousands of manuscripts. Early in the 12th century, the famous Srivaishnava saint Sri Ramanujacharya, who hailed from Tamil Nadu, stayed at Melukote for about 12 years. Early in the 12th century, the great Srivaishnav...

Keywords: Hoysala Temples, Mallikarjuna Temple, Basaralu The Mallikarjuna temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, is in Basaralu, a small town in the Mandya district, Karnataka state, India. Basaralu is close to Nagamangala and about 65 km from the culturally important city of Mysore. The temple was built by Harihara Dhannayaka around 1234 A.D. during the rule of the Hoysala Empire King Vira Narasimha II. Location: Basaralu The temple is highly ornate example of Hoysala architecture. The temple plan is that of a trikuta (three shrined), though only the middle one has a superstructure (tower or shikhara) and a sukhanasi (nose or tower over the vestibule). The three shrines are connected by a common hall (mantapa) which is unique in that it mixes characteristics of an open and a closed hall. The lateral shrines are connected directly to the hall while the middle shrine has a vestibule that connects the sanctum (cella or vimana) to the hall. The cella in the central shrine ...

Hoysala Heritage Trip - 5 Another weekend, all alone at home and another opportunity to explore the great living Hoysala temples. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and started off at 5:15. It had rained heavily he previous night, hence it was very gloomy in the morning. I reached Swathi Hotel around 7:00 where I had breakfast. Then headed to the historic city of Nagamangala. Keywords: Hoysala Temples, Saumyakeshava Temple, Nagamangala Saumyakeshava Temple, Nagamangala Nagamangala is a town in the Mandya district of Karnataka state, India. It is located 62 km from the historically important town Mysore, on the Srirangapatna-Sira highway. Location; Nagamangala The Saumyakeshava temple (also spelt Sauymakesava or Soumyakeshava) at Nagamangala was constructed in the 12th century by the rulers of the Hoysala empire. Historically, Nagamangala came into prominence during the rule of Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana when it became an important center of Vaishnava faith and r...

Keywords: Hoysala Temples, Bhagwan Bahubali, Shravanabelagola According to Jaina traditional accounts, Sravanabelagola seems to have had religious significance from the 3rd century BC with the migration of Bhadrabahu, a Jaina pontiff along with his emperor Chandragupta Maurya. The place attained greater prominence  as a Digambara Jaina center when Chamundaraya, an illustrious minister of Ganga Rachamalla IV (974-985 AD), got installed the colossus of Bahubali to fulfil the cherished desire of his mother.  Location: Shravanabelagola The colossal image of Gomatesvara (Bahubali), sculpted from a tor, marks the culmination of the artistic excellence achieved by the Ganga sculptors. This magnificent sculpture installed at the peak of the Vindhya hill around 981 AD, is the tallest monolithic image in India and measures about 17.7 m in height. Hewn out of fine-grained grey granite, it is finished in the round from head to knees. The depiction of ant-hill with snakes peep...