Hoysala temples in Karnataka, India were build using a style that was developed somewhere around eleventh and fourteenth century during the Hoysala Empire in the current state of Karnataka. Hoysalas are believed to have rules theregion for around more than 300 years. The style is famously known as Hoysala architecture and according to legends around 1500 temples, shrines were build in that time. Out of those 1500 only 400 has been discovered so far. These Hoysala temples are a very superb mix of convoluted monuments and ancient temples that were built by Cholas along with the Chalukyan temples throughout the state.
It’d be difficult for me to cover all the 400 temples but in this post I’ll describe one of the top 3 temples. Perhaps in the later posts we can learn about the other temples also.
One very interesting thing about the Hoysala temples is that almost every temple here has a tale carved in the stone. The carved stories are mainly about deities, devils, gods, goddesses etc. Now let me introduce to the top 3 Hoysala temples in Karnataka:
Angadi Temples
These temples can be reached following small mud roads uphill thourh dense coffee plantations. On follwong the roads you reach a rugged path leading you to the basadis. Another path will take you to famous three temples (Temples are poorly maintained) called Mallikarjuna, Chennakesava anf Patalarudreshwara temples. You can hear from the priest the story and see the place temples where Sala killed the tiger. Place is surrounded by dense coffee plantations and only company yiu can getis of chirping birds J
Doddagaddavalli
Doddagaddavalli can be reached enroute Belur from Hassan. On the route you will get a road sign to the place. Just take that path and you can get the first glimpse of the 12th century temples though the lush green fields, coconut trees throughout the way. The temple was built by some merchant and has a lake in the background. From other sides its mostly covered by fields. Temple is of the goddess Lakshmi temple with shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu and goddess Kali. This is the only Hoysala temple in Karnataka with four towers.
Hulikere
Though Hulikere is not a temple but it’s a place that will fascinate anyone interested in Hoysala monuments or architecture. Hulikere is a Kalyani or step-well which is located near to a popular temple in Halebeedu called Hoysaleshwar temple. This step-well has several shrines alongside it. According to the stories the place was the private pond of then Queen Shantala Devi ‘s private pond. The reason place got this name was the fact that the security arranged for the queen was so secure that no human or not even a tiger could walk around the pound.
I hope you liked this article, please feel free to share your feedback as it’d help me in maintaining a nice and informative blog about temples in India. Also if you want to include a write up or want us to write about any temple please let us know and we’d be happy assisting you.
