The Chennakesava Temple, (Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಚೆನ್ನಕೇಶವ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) originally called Vijayanarayana Temple (Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಾರಾಯಣ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ), was built on the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur, by the Hoysala Empire King Vishnuvardhana. Belur, which was an early Hoysala capital is in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It is 40 km from Hassan city and 220 km from Bangalore. Chennakesava (lit, "handsome Kesava") is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Belur is well known for its marvelous temples built during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty, making it and nearby Halebidu favored tourist destinations in Karnataka state. These temple complexes have been proposed to be listed under UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The temple was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 AD. Scholars are divided about the reasons for the construction of the temple. The military successes of Vishnuvardhana is considered a probable reason. Some scholars believe Vishnuvardhana commissioned the temple to surpass his overlord, King Vikramaditya VI of the Western Chalukya Empire (who ruled from Basavakalyan), after his initial military victories against the Chalukyas. According to another theory, Vishnuvardhana was celebrating his famous victory against the Chola dynasty of Tamil country in the battle of Talakad (1116 AD), which resulted in the annexation of Gangavadi (modern southern Karnataka) by the Hoysalas. Another theory points to Vishnuvardhana's conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism (a sect of Hinduism) after coming under the influence of saint Ramanujacharya, considering this is a predominantly Vaishnava temple in sculptural iconography. The Hoysalas employed many noted architects and artisans who developed a new architectural tradition, which art critic Adam Hardy called the Karnata Dravida tradition. In all 118 inscriptions have been recovered from the temple complex, covering the period 1117 AD to the 18th century, giving historians details of the artists employed, grants made to the temple and renovations committed during later times.
Dancing Celestial India (Uttar Pradesh). Early 12th century. Sandstone. H. 331/2 in. (85.1 cm) Promised Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving (L 1993.88.2) Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. The contou…
Bas reliefes in Hindu temple. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu, India
The Vaital (Baitala) Deula Temple is located 100m west of Bindhu Sagar in Bhubaneswar old city, and shares the same temple compound as the now much encroached upon Sisiresvara Temple. The form of t…
Close-up view of ornate Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Javagallu(Karnataka) The decorative plan of the outer walls of the shrines and the mantapa (hall) is of the "new kind", with two eaves that run around the temple. Photo Credit: Bikash Das
The temple deity is worshiped on all days of the year, complete with Naivedya, accompanied with the chanting of mantras. Surrounded by lush greenery on all sides, the age-old temple is a feast for the eyes. Even though, the Amruthapura temple in itself very interesting with its Instinctive intelligible art. However, the tranquility is all around, which is the most beautiful part about this village. Scenes from the Epic Ramayana are sculpted on the south side wall on 70 panels with the story proceeding anti clockwise which is unusual. On the north side wall, all depictions are clockwise, the normal Hoysala style. 25 panels depict the life of Lord Krishna and the remaining 45 panels depict the Epic Mahabharata. The large stone inscription near the porch is an excellent example of medieval Kannada poetry composed by the famous poet Janna. This temple stands out for its exquisite images of intricately sculpted figures of women in different poses found on the exterior walls. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. The intricate workmanship includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological epics, and sensuous dancers. The bull Nandi stands guard at the entrance in the porch. I observed that these temples had barely any light inside, giving them a very private, sacred feel. When you come out, the sun’s glare seems particularly strong and you are forced to shade yourself such is the contrast between inside and out. It’s aesthetically crafted by experts in compliance with set quality standards and is highly durable in existence and magnificent in appearance. The tranquility something inexplicable happens here is only to be experienced in solitude. I spent hours just savoring each piece of artwork and understanding its significance. The whole environment gets aromatic by saffron shower on idols from sky at some times.
Historic Hindu temple located in the south side of river Vaigai in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Parvati who is known as Meenakshi and her consort, Shiva named here as Sundareswarar(beautiful deity). The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai. The complex houses 14 gopurams(gateway towers) ranging from 45-50m in height, the tallest being the souther tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high, and two golden sculptured vimana(shrine) over sanctum of the main deities. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is built during 1623 to 1655 CE. The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, around 25,000 during Fridays and gets an annual revenue of sixty million INR. There is an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple and it was in the list of top 30 nominees of the "New Seven Wonders of the World".
Piliers sculptés montrant des chevaux dressés avec des cavaliers et des soldats combattant des tigres dans le mandapa Sesharayar (4ème enceinte) Les sculptures du Sesharayar (ou Sheshiyar) Mandapa, situé près de la porte est, datent de l'époque de Vijayanagar (XVIème siècle) Les tigres symbolisent les musulmans avec lesquels la dynastie Vijayanagar était en guerre avant d'être totalement vaincue (voir le site d'Hampi) --------- Le temple de Srirangam est une véritable cité religieuse, dont l'édification a commencé au Xème siècle. Le sanctuaire dédié à Vishnu (golden temple) est au centre des bâtiments, c'est la partie la plus ancienne. Srirangam est le premier des cent huit sanctuaires du dieu Vishnu (appelé ici : Ranganatha, qui est la forme de repos de Vishnou). C'est le plus vaste temple avec 156 hectares et le plus célèbre. Le temple est constitué de sept enceintes dominées par 21 gopuram(s) (portes d'entrée monumentales). Il comprend de nombreuses boutiques, bassins, mandapa(s) et petits temples. La partie centrale (au-delà de la 6ème enceinte) et le sanctuaire sont réservés aux hindous. Article de Wikipedia sur le temple de Srirangam fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_de_Sri_Ranganathaswamy_(Srirangam) Le site officiel du temple www.srirangam.org/
The Chennakesava Temple, (Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ಚೆನ್ನಕೇಶವ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) originally called Vijayanarayana Temple (Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಾರಾಯಣ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ), was built on the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur, by the Hoysala Empire King Vishnuvardhana. Belur, which was an early Hoysala capital is in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It is 40 km from Hassan city and 220 km from Bangalore. Chennakesava (lit, "handsome Kesava") is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Belur is well known for its marvelous temples built during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty, making it and nearby Halebidu favored tourist destinations in Karnataka state. These temple complexes have been proposed to be listed under UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The temple was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 AD. Scholars are divided about the reasons for the construction of the temple. The military successes of Vishnuvardhana is considered a probable reason. Some scholars believe Vishnuvardhana commissioned the temple to surpass his overlord, King Vikramaditya VI of the Western Chalukya Empire (who ruled from Basavakalyan), after his initial military victories against the Chalukyas. According to another theory, Vishnuvardhana was celebrating his famous victory against the Chola dynasty of Tamil country in the battle of Talakad (1116 AD), which resulted in the annexation of Gangavadi (modern southern Karnataka) by the Hoysalas. Another theory points to Vishnuvardhana's conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism (a sect of Hinduism) after coming under the influence of saint Ramanujacharya, considering this is a predominantly Vaishnava temple in sculptural iconography. The Hoysalas employed many noted architects and artisans who developed a new architectural tradition, which art critic Adam Hardy called the Karnata Dravida tradition. In all 118 inscriptions have been recovered from the temple complex, covering the period 1117 AD to the 18th century, giving historians details of the artists employed, grants made to the temple and renovations committed during later times.
I had visited Belur, Halebeedu and Sravanbelgola in 1991 as a day trip from Bangaluru. However, for want of suffiient time, I could not explore fully the two main Hoysala temples - Chennakeshava temple and Hoysaleshwara temple constructed during 12th Century AD. Since we were already in Chikmagalur, we decided to revisit these temples which are located within about 40 kms from the town. After exploring Kodandarama temple in Hiremagaluru and Veera Narayana temple in Belavadi, we proceeded to first to Halebeedu and then to Belur. We engaged the tourism department approved guides for both the temples to understand the thoughts behind carvings, sculptures, reliefs and frienzes. We ended the trip by visiting Yagchi dam backwater for a speed boat ride and returned to Chikamagalur by evening. There are empteen blogs and articles available in books as well as on the websites on the temples of Belur and Halebeedu. So I will not go into the details of these two temples. I leave it to pictures taken during the visit to 'speak' about them. Additionally, I have also captioned these pictures for further elucidation. Some pictures of Hoysaleshwar temple taken during the visit to Halebeedu are uploaded below: 1. Hoysaleshwar Temple, Halebeedu Front view of of the twin temples of Hoysaleshwara and Shantaleshwara in Halebeedu. These are Shiva temples constructed during 12th Century AD. One of the well carved black stone pillars inside Hoyleshwara temple. One of the stone carved ceilings depicting the dashavataras of Lord Vishnu. The close up of the intricately stone carved over the door leading to sanctum sanctorum of Hoysaleshwara temple. The lose up of the mythologial animal over the door frame. A monolith bull made u of black stone in front of Hoysaleshwara temple. A similar size bull sculpture is also placed in front of the adjunct Shanteshwari temple. Halebeedu Shiva temple have more carvings, sculptures and motifs on the outside walls of the temple than inside the temple. This one is a sculpture of Ravan who is seen holding Mount Kailash. Note how Ravan is balaning the weight of the entire Mount Kailash on his legs. Lord Vishnu on the left and Harihara ( Shiva and Vishnu together) on the right. Lord Ganesh with trunk on his left. The friezes from down to up of social activities, animals, birds and flowers upon which are some idols of gods. Lord Bramha. Arjuna with his bow pointing up during Draupadi Swaymvara. Lord Krishna holding Mount Goverdhan. Lord Shiva, probably in Param (Supreme) Shiva form. Lord Vishnu in Varaha avatar. Dancing Saraswati with beads on her right hand and a book on her left hand. Ugra Narasimha Avatar. Corner carvings and sculptures. Karna-Arjuna war. Lord Vishnu in Trivikrama form. Lord Vishnu takes a giant leap to reclaim universe. Lord Bramha, the creator of the universe is at the end of the raised foot. A dancer aompanied by two drummers on her either side. A monkey tries to pull a lady who is holding a tree branch in one hand and holding on to her cloth with other hand. Karna is holding on to Arjuna and Bhima(left) while Chkaravuya (right) has been created to trap Abhimanyu. Bhima is about to kill Dushashan (right) while Draupadi who has taken vow not to tie her hairs (middle) until Dushashan is killed, now ties her hairs (left). Lord Shiva and Parvati sit on Nandi who seems to be grumphy due to double weight. A scene of Amritmanthan. Note that heads of all the persons involved in this act have been damaged by vandals. Halebeedu Museum inside the temple complex. Photogrphy inside the museum is prohibited. A fully bloomed jacaranda tree in the Halebeedu temple complex. 2. Chennakeshava Temple, Belur Gopuram at the entrance of Chennakeshava temple, Belur. This picture has been taken from inside the temple complex. From the structure as well as sculptures on it, the gopuram seems to be a later addition and is in the style of Vijaynagar architeture as seen in Hampi temples.. The side view of Chennakeshava temple, Belur. The pillar made from a single stone in the Belur temple complex. The pillar stands on its own gravity. Pushkarni well inside the temple complex. Backside view of the temple. A close up of the back side of the temple. Entrance to Chennakeshava temple sanctum sanctorum. Note the intriate stone carvings. The close up of the intricate stone carvings at the entrance. A close up of the side view of Chennakeshava temple with miniature towers. Friezes in layers on the outer wall of the temple. A different type of ornamentations on the lower outer wall of the temple. The layers of friezes upon which sculptures of Gods, musicians and others have been placed. In almost all friezes, the order is elephants in the bottom, followed by horses, flowers, mythologial animals, flowers, war scenes, etc. There are 38 well carved bracket figures, called Madanalikas which are on the top of 38 outer pillars of Chennakeshava temple. It is difficult to imagine that the intricate carvings on each of 38 Madanalikas are in fact the stone carvings. In this picture is the dancing lady with a lady drummer and lady musicians on either side of her feet. Darpan Sundari. A monkey on the left is trying to pull the cloth of the maiden. Bhashmasur mardini-Mohini dance. Vish Kanya (Dame of Poison). This sculpture is symbolic of the saying that for an adolescence boy, every girl looks beautiful even if the she has donkey's face! Lord Shiva slaying demon Gajasura. Intriacately stone carved top of the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum of Chennakeshava temple. There are sculptures of six Shilabalika (celestial maiden) atop six pillars of the central part of the mandap of Chennakeshava temple.This is one of the six sculptures in Bashmasur Mohini dance pose. The sculpture of a celestial maiden doing hiar dressing. The central part of the ceiling of Mandap inside the temple. The protruding part of the delicate sculpture is that of Narasimha avatar. There are a number of stone pillars in the Mandap, each being distinct from others both in terms of carvings and dimension. A close up of the stone carvings on one of the pillars of Mandap. Close up of the arvings on another pillar of Mandap. The colour of the pillar has slight yellowish due to the light of the sodium lamp falling on it. This pillar in the mandap is revered by the devotees as there sculptures of Narasimha. Hene it is also called as Narasimha Pillar.
Ici la pose du Bindi ou Tika est censée porter chance.lCes magnifiques sculptures de femmes se préparant pour etre belles sont d'une finesse incroyable. By the installation of Bindi or tika is supposed to be chance.lCes beautiful sculptures of women preparing to be beautiful are incredible finesse. Por supone la instalación de Bindi o tika ser chance.lCes hermosas esculturas de mujeres que se preparan para ser bella es increíble delicadeza. The fantastic site of Khajuraho classified World Heritage of Unesco is in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Raja Chandela it did build 950 to 1050 more than 85 Hindu temples dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva and a group of Jain temples. There are currently 22 temples that have preserved sculptures that are among the greatest masterpieces of Indian culture. Le fantastique site de Khajuraho classé patrimoine mondiale de l'unesco se trouve dans l'état du Madhya Pradesh. Les rajâ Chandelâ y firent construire de 950 à 1050 plus de 85 temples Hindous dédiés à Vishnou et Shiva ainsi qu'un groupe de temples Jains. Il reste actuellement 22 temples qui ont conservés des sculptures qui comptent parmi les plus grands chefs-d'œuvre de la culture indienne.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
With celestial carvings, epigraphs and vernacular design elements, temples like Tungnath, Somnath, Dilwara and more, are truly one-of-a-kind destinations
