Musafir

The Kedareshwara Temple looks similar to the Hoysaleswara Temple in its architecture and design but very small compared to the latter. Also the temple is more or less in ruins without proper maintenance. In fact, you will not find much visitors even during day time. People simply choose to ignore this for the bigger and more famous temple nearby. The current entrance to the temple complex is from its side as the main path is filled with bushes.

Veera Ballala II and his younger Queen Abhinva Ketala Devi built the temple of Kedareshwara in 1319 A.D. This temple was praised by Ferguson two centuries ago as "Gem of Indian Architecture". He expressed that if this temple had been illustrated in any thing like completeness there was probably nothing in India which would have conveyed a better idea of what its architecture was capable of doing. Unfortunately portions of the temple collapsed more than 70 years ago and it was not possible to bring it to its original shape.

As any typical Hoysala temple construction, you can find the the temple is on an elevated octagonal jagati. Similar to the Hoysaleswara Temple, this temple has 9 levels of friezes from the basement and you can refer to the description about the friezes here. Like the Hoysaleswara Temple, there is meshed window made of stone in some parts of the temple especially near the entrances and small pillars on the other parts.

Above the friezes you will find the statues of the various godly forms and mythological stories. In all, there are about 200 different sculptures above the friezes. I will not talk about them much as they are similar to the ones we have seen in the Hoysaleswara Temple Eg. Mahishasura Mardhini, Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhana Mountain, Varaha form of Lord Vishnu etc. Lets go inside the temple.

As you enter the temple, you will enter a pillared mukhamantapa with shrines in front and either sides. The architecture of the pillars is also a typical Hoysala style with 5 sections. As you see in this picture, the front two pillars are of a different style again a Hoysala mark. There are no idols in two of the shrines but you will find a small Linga on a pedestal in the shrine right in front. The inside of the sanctums are pretty simple with no craftwork. But one thing is evident that the shrines on either side held sculptures and not Linga. We can recognize this by the small square holes on the pedestal. A Linga is normally carved out of a single stone including the pedestal. Some locals worship the temple even if there is no priest appointed. Inside the most beautiful parts is the ceiling and the spiked pillars, which are amazing to touch and feel.

Even though this temple is much smaller than the Hoysaleswara Temple, it has all the aspects and features that the latter has. The ASI has to renovate the external sculpture so that people take interest to visit it. There was one more temple on my itinerary for the day, so had to move quickly out to my final destination, one more rarely visited place.

If the experience in Belur was not enough for one day, i landed at this place. From a distance it looks like a simple plain(large though…) temple. But as i got nearer, i thought the architect of this temple must have been mad. How can you fill the entire outer wall with sculptures without leaving space? This is simply crazy but awesome. Now lets talk about Halebidu in general and this temple in particular.

Dwarasamudra was the capital of the Hoysalas during the 12th century. After being attacked by Allauddin Khilji and Malik Kafur in the 14th century, it fell into a state of disrepair and was called Halebidu (ruined city) by the locals. This town is well known for the two beautiful temples, the Kedareshwara temple (built in 1219 A.D. by Ketaladevi, a queen of Veera Ballala II) and the Hoysaleswara Temple. We will talk about the Kedareshwara Temple in a different Post.

The Hoysaleswara Temple was commissioned by Ketumalla, the commander of King Vishnuvardhana, according to an inscription dated 1121 A.D. It is a simple Dvikuta vimana (two shrined, one for Hoysaleswara and the other for Shantaleswara) and is built with chloritic chist (also known as Soap Stone). As a typical signature of Hoysala Temples, this one too stands on an octagonal elevated jagati. The two shrines are connected by a pavilion inside. The plan of the inside of the temple is simple but the exterior looks different because of the introduction of many projections and recesses in the walls.

The temple was built at a height that provided the architects sufficient horizontal and vertical space to depict large and small sculptures.

The overall effect of the vertical and horizontal lines, the play of the outline, the effect of light and shade and the plan of the projections and recesses all amounts to a marvellous exhibition of human artistic brain. This temple of Halebidu, has been described as an "outstanding example of Hindu architecture" and as the "supreme climax of Indian architecture".

The temple has four porches for entry and the one normally used by visitors as main entry today is actually a lateral entrance (north). There is one entry on the south side and two on the east side, facing two large detached open pavilions whose ceiling is supported by lathe turned pillars. In addition there is a sanctuary for the Sun God Surya, whose image stands 7 ft. (2.1 m) tall. The pavilions enshrine large images of Nandi, and share the same jagati as the main temple.

With this high level description of the temple, we can start to explore, starting with the inner structure.

One post is not enough to describe the outer section of the Chennakesava Temple. But no blog can deliver the same experience as personally visiting to this amazing place. It was already drizzling when i started off checking out its outer beauty, but i did not budge.

Outside the main entrance of the temple are two statues of the Royal Emblem of the Hoysalas. Refer to my earlier posts for the description of the emblem. These emblems are found on all four entrances to this temple. Above the main entrance there is the Makaratorana and in between there is a very unique sculpture, Garuda (the man-eagle, vehicle of Lord Vishnu) carrying Lord Narasimha (Lion headed Lord Vishnu). Around this sculpture are 10 circles on which are miniature carvings of incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The entire sculpture is monolithic and seems a finger can be passed behind the entire sculpture which is exquisite art. Again, this makaratorana is found at all entrances, but the incarnation of Vishnu is different in each.

To the left of the Makaratorana, there is a lady holding a mirror admiring her beauty. There are attendants on her either side. The one on the left is offering her vermilion to apply on her forehead and the one on the right carries a monkey and a bunch of grapes to lure it. The poor monkey is disappointed and is licking its finger with a sad face. All this has been carved on a single stone and the detail in which these idols are carved makes this temple a man made wonder. There are 42 sculptures like this on the outer section of the temple and i will describe some of them as we move along. On one of the panels is carved the image of the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana, who commissioned this temple with his wife Shantala and consorts. There is an idol of a woman with a parrot perched on her hand, being used as a messenger.

The bottom panel of the basement is carved with 644 elephants and each one’s design is different from the others. Elephant represents strength. Above Elephants, there is the row of Lions all around. As we know, lion stands for courage. Above lions, there are horses which depict speed. Above it there is circular scrollwork with miniature dancing figures or contemporary images. You can see some of the idols missing from the panels here. They were stolen in the 14th century and are currently in the Victoria Albert Museum, London. The Mahabharata is carved on small idols and the important thing to mention is that the artists concentrated on small fables also (E.g.. Bhagadatta Samhara, The audience hall of King Virata, Bheema shaking a tree to make the Kauravas fall from it) along with the main story. These stories, i am sure will not be found in any other temple.

A special mention has to me made of the various hair styles of these danseuses. These hair styles seems to be today’s fashion, however it is evident from these sculptures that they were nothing new in India. See the idol which is in a dance posture. The legs are tilted 120 degrees and the body and waist are in a different position. The artist has also taken care of putting the garlands in a proper position according to the body and legs. And mind you, everything is chiselled out of a single stone.

There is one interesting idol where a woman with donkey’s head is being loved by a man. The explanation given is that even a donkey like woman looks beautiful to a boy in teenage. There is one idol of a woman carrying Rudraveena. You can see that one string was there which is now broken. And the entire image along with the thin string is monolithic.

If you observe these idols, its exciting to notice the symmetry between the ornaments and the body is maintained perfectly keeping in mind the structure of the body. These collection of images were also chosen well. The sanctum sanctorum part has idols of Gods where as the other sections have idols of common men/women like huntress, vidushaka (joker) etc. The image that you see beside is one masterpiece. This is Narasimha, slaying the demon king Hiranyakasipa. Look the detail in which the hands with weapons and the two bodies have been carved. The intestine of Hiranyakasipa is shown taken out and it forms a garland around Narasimha. Lastly, the tongue of Narasimha is razor thin. The thought that this is all in one stone is enough to render one speechless.

One more different thought is the idol of Gajasuramardhana (Lord Shiva slaying Gajasura, the elephant headed demon king who hides Siva inside his body). Siva tears the body of the demon and comes out. The artist shows that Siva is dancing with one leg on Gajasura’s head and its skin all around him. You can also see the elephant feet. This is one depiction of this scene which you will not find in an other place.

I had discussed about the Hoysala pattern of construction in my earlier posts. This temple is on a jagati with 32 angles and each angle is in symmetry with one corner of the outer part of the temple. We will talk about the Outer part of the temple complex in the next post too…

My next destination is again to a small remote village called Doddagadavalli which is 16 kilometres from Hassan. Here you will find the magnificent Lakshmi Temple constructed during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana. And the location chosen for this temple is superb. It is amidst coconut plantations and near a lake shore. Doddagadavalli is again a very small village with not more than a 100 houses. The temple was locked when i reached over there. We had to wait for 10 minutes before the priest was called.

There is nice landscaping done by the Archaeological Survey of India inside this temples complex. As we enter the main gate and move in, we come to a small mantapa which leads to the inner complex. There are two rows of round pillars between which there is the walkway. Right in front of this mantapa, we find some broken statues and inscriptions. I walk through the mantapa and enter the main temple complex.

This temple is said to have commissioned by a merchant called Kullahuna Rahuta and his wife Sahaja Devi. It is one of the earliest ones built in the Hoysala style and it does not stand on a “jagati” unlike normal Hoysala temples. The temple is a chatuskuta construction (four towers). Three of the vimanas (shrines) have a common square mantapa (hall) with 9 bays. Each vimana has a vestibule connecting it to the central mantapa. On top of the vestibule is its own tower called sukanasi. The sukanasi holds the Hoysala emblem of Sala fighting the tiger. Of the four towers, three are undecorated and they look stepped pyramidal with a pile of dented horizontal mouldings with the kalasa on top. The fourth tower is very well decorated which is typical of Hoysala designs and is the tower of the main shrine that houses the Lakshmi Devi image.

The temple is dark inside except for light sources in the sanctum. The ceiling of the central hall are extraordinary carved. Thanks to the closed nature of the temple architecture, you need some torch to see the details. If you are lucky enough, the caretaker would have a battery operated torch with him.

You will find round pillars right along the pathway inside the temple. Some parts of the wall are beautifully carved the others are very raw. The main deity Lakshmi is in the middle shrine and Vishnu and Siva are to the right. While the shrines of Lakshmi , Vishnu and Siva shares a common Mantapa ( square hall) , the shrine of Kali is connected to the Mantapa via an oblong hall. The two entrances to the temple are located in this oblong hall.

The Kali shrine is to the left outside which i found something interesting and unique. There are two sculptures of large demonic living corpses called ’betala’. As seen in this image, you see the skeleton and a human head held in it right hand. These betala images are absolutely unique to the temple of Doddagadavalli. Though it is not unusual to spot such demon images in other Hoysala temple, here they are carved in a mysterious style that evokes a cult like outlook to the shrine. I

Another unusual feature of the temple is the existence of four more shrines at each corner of the temple complex with two sides of each shrine attached to the courtyard wall. Each of these minor shrines has its own tower, kalasa and Hoysala emblem. On the whole the temple complex has nine towers which is unusual for a Hoysala temple. There is also a Bhairava temple in this complex, but its barred from entering inside. In the court , between the main temple and the Bhairava temple is a stone plank with inscriptions and images carved on it. This temple compound contains about six such inscriptions explaining the construction and patronage. In all probability many people would have contributed its construction at various points in time and hence many such planks installed at various points. This temple is almost intact except for the worn out sculptures outside. Nothing has been done by the ASI to preserve this amazing legacy. This temple needs urgent attention.

I spent nearly half an hour in this temple, covering every aspect and every corner inside. I was very excited with the fact that i was knowing about a new dynasty. The Hoysala rulers are not well known as their contemporary kingdoms are. As i am come outside this temple, i looked forward to my next pit-stop, the beautiful Chennakesava Temple at Belur.

Before we talk about the architecture, we will talk a little bit about the dynasty. The Hoysala Empire was a prominent South Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu. By the 13th century, they governed most of present-day Karnataka, minor parts of Tamil Nadu and parts of western Andhra Pradesh in Deccan India. The most notable rulers of the dynasty were Vishnuvardhana (1108-1152) and Veera Ballala II (1173 - 1220) in whose rule the kingdom flourished greatly in terms of art. The are became part of the Vijayanagara empire after the death of the last king, Veera Ballala III (1292-1343). We know about the dynasty and the administration from many inscriptions that are there in the temples in this part of Karnataka.

The Hoysala era was an important period in the development of art, architecture, and religion in South India. The empire is remembered today primarily for its temple architecture. Over a hundred surviving temples are scattered across Karnataka, including the well known Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. The Hoysala rulers also patronised the fine arts, encouraging literature to flourish in Kannada and Sanskrit.

Kannada folklore tells of a young man Sala, who saved his Jain guru Sudatta by striking dead a tiger he encountered near the temple of the Goddess Vasantika at Sosevur. The word "strike" literally translates to "hoy" in Hale Kannada (Old Kannada), hence the name "Hoy-sala". This killing of the tiger by Sala has become the royal emblem of the kingdom as you see in this picture. This legend first appeared in the Belur inscription of Vishnuvardhana (1117), but owing to several inconsistencies in the Sala story it remains in the realm of folklore. Now we will talk about the architecture in general.

The area in and around the districts of Hassan and Mandya are the only places where you can find this style of temple construction in the state of Karnataka. Study of the Hoysala architectural style has revealed a negligible Indo-Aryan influence while the impact of Southern Indian style is more distinct. The vigorous temple building activity of the Hoysala Empire was due to the social, cultural and political events of the period. The growing military prowess of the Hoysala kings desired to surpass their Western Chalukya overlords in artistic achievement. Temples built prior to Hoysala independence in the mid-12th century reflect significant Western Chalukya influences, while later temples retain some salient features but have additional inventive decoration and ornamentation, features unique to Hoysala artisans.

The Hoysalas usually dedicated their temples to Lord Shiva or to Lord Vishnu (two of the major Hindu gods), but they occasionally chose a different deity. While King Vishnuvardhana and his descendants were Vaishnava by faith,  records show that the Hoysalas maintained religious harmony by building as many temples dedicated to Shiva as they did to Vishnu. Most of these temples have secular features with broad themes depicted in their sculptures. The Kesava temple at Somanathapura is different in that its ornamentation is strictly Vaishnava.

A Hindu temple is a place of contact between the gods or deities and man. The focus of a temple is the centre or sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha) where the image of the deity resides, so temple architecture is designed to move the devotee from outside to the garbhagriha through ambulatory passageways for circumambulation and halls or chambers (mantapas) that become increasingly sacred as the deity is approached. Most Hoysala temples have a plain covered entrance porch supported by lathe turned (circular or bell-shaped) pillars which were sometimes further carved with deep fluting and moulded with decorative motifs. The temples may be built upon a platform raised by about a metre called a "jagati". Such temples will have an additional set of steps leading to an open mantapa (open hall) with parapet walls. A good example of this style is the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. The jagati which is in unity with the rest of the temple follows a star-shaped design and the walls of the temple follow a zig-zag pattern, a Hoysala innovation.

The mantapa is the hall where groups of people gather during prayers. The entrance to the mantapa normally has a highly ornate overhead lintel called a makaratorana (makara is an imaginary beast and torana is an overhead decoration) as you see in this picture. The open mantapa which serves the purpose of an outer hall (outer mantapa) is a regular feature in larger Hoysala temples leading to an inner small closed mantapa and the shrine(s).

The vimana, also called the cella, contains the garbhagriha (Sanctum Santorum) wherein resides the image of the presiding deity. The vimana is often topped by a tower which is quite different on the outside than on the inside. Inside, the vimana is plain and square, whereas outside it is profusely decorated and can be either stellate ("star-shaped") or shaped as a staggered square, or feature a combination of these designs, giving it many projections and recesses that seem to multiply as the light falls on it.

Hoysala artists are famous for their sculptural detail, be it in the depiction of the Hindu epics, yallis , deities, kirthimukha (gargoyles), eroticism or aspects of daily life. Their workmanship shows an attention paid to precise detail. Every aspect down to a fingernail or toenail is perfected. Salabhanjika, a common form of Hoysala sculpture, is an old Indian tradition going back to Buddhist sculpture. Sala is the sala tree and bhanjika is the chaste maiden. In the Hoysala idiom, madanika figures are decorative objects put at an angle on the outer walls of the temple near the roof so that worshipers circumambulating the temple can view them. They served the function of bracket figures to pillars inside the mantapa. These madanika were sculpted as seemingly engaged in artistic activities such as music (holding musical instruments) and dance.Kirthimukhas (demon faces) adorn the towers of vimanas in some temples. Sometimes the artists left behind their signatures on the sculptures they created.

The sthamba buttalikas are pillar images that show traces of Chola art in the Chalukyan touches. Some of the artists working for the Hoysalas may have been from Chola country, a result of the expansion of the empire into Tamil-speaking regions of Southern India. The image you see here is of mohini on one of the pillars in the mantapa (closed hall) of the Chennakeshava temple and is a fine example of Chola art.

We had a nice glimpse of the Hoysala art and architecture and this will take the further posts forward in our understanding. As for the blog, i will continue with exploring the Hassan District in further posts.