Famous Temples in India

HOYSALESHWARA TEMPLE

Halebeedu, Karnataka, India

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God

The main deity of this temple is Sri Hoysaleswara, who is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Here deity is facing in East direction and is in the form of Linga.

Interesting Facts

  • The Hoysaleswara temple is surrounded by Ponds, Mantapas and Lakes.
  • Museum is present in the North East direction to temple, where one can find good collection of Hoysala Art, books are also sold related to other Heritage sites as well.
  • Sun God is depicted in the 7 feet tall image.
  • There are exquisite sculptures and paintings inside the temple.
  • There is an image of a dancing Ganesha at the entrance of the temple.
  • There are more than 240 images in the temple and no other temple has these many intricate sculptures.

Best Season To Visit

The best season to visit this temple is Winter season. The best months to visit are September to February.

Weather

Highest - April to June (38°C during day and 26°C during night)Average - May (37°C during the day and 21°C during night)Lowest - October to February (27°C during day and 18°C during night)Monsoon season - August to September

Dress Code

  • For men the dress code is Shirt & Trouser, Dhoti or Pyjamas with upper cloth.
  • For women the preferred dress code is saree or half-saree with blouse or chudidhar with pyjama and upper cloth.
  • These rules are applicable for foreigners also. Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless tops, low-waist jeans and short-length T-shirts are not allowed.
  • Pilgrims/visitors will not be allowed inside the temple if dress code is not followed.

Do's & Dont's

  • Do bathe and wear clean clothes before you enter the temple.
  • Do respect ancient customs and co-piligrims while at temple.
  • Smo​king is strictly prohibited inside the temple premises.

transport connections

Name Distance Contact Number
Halbeedu Bus Stand
270 MTRS 080-49596666
Hassan railway station
33.6 KM 139
Mysore Airport
157 KM 0821-2596802

Architecture

Hoysaleshwara Temple derived name from the King Vishnuvardhana Hoysaleswara, who built the temple. This temple is facing in East direction and constructed in Hoysala style of architecture. There is a Kannada inscription on the beautifully sculpted south door and the temple built with Soapstone.

Garbha Gudi : The main shrine was built on a star-shaped base. There are four entrances one on the North, one on the South and two from the East. If one enters from the Northern Door, one can find beautiful carvings of Dwarapalakas of Lord Shiva, at the entrance of the door richly decorated with ornaments and weapons. On the top of the entrance one can find carvings of Makara which is a mystical animal composed of Peacock, Elephant, Lion, Pig and Crocodile. The tower over the temple shrine (vimana) is delicately finished with intricate carvings.

Dhwaja Stambham : The most interesting part of the temple is the Garuda Sthamba, which is a rare pillar that depicts the history of the bodyguards that lived with the Kings in olden days. These bodyguards committed suicide on the death of their master and this pillar pays homage to a bodyguard named Kuruva Lakshma who killed himself after the death of his master. The event is narrated in detail on the pillar.

Mandapams & Pillars : Astadik Palakas on the Navaranga roof, the long passage covered with various kinds of pillars and perforated screen onto the right. This is the only place where there is passage between two kuta, normally they are closed in most of the other temples. The Mandakini's present in the Navaranga Mantapas. Making the forefront of the each shrine, the four pillars are the most elaborate having 'Madanika' sculptures in their brackets. The massive temple has four porches serving as its doorways. The super structure on the shrines is known as 'Sunakasi', which used to be a row of ornamented miniature roofs on top of the attics of the hall are all gone astray. Even the towers of the shrines are not there. The temple was constructed at a height to grant adequate horizontal and vertical space to illustrate large and small sculptures.

Temple Walls : It has about thousand figures on the walls which depict scenes of Mahabharata and Ramayana. There are six railings before the wall images are present. The first railing has Elephants present surrounding the entire temple, the second railing consists of Mystic Lion which is exhibited in many postures. The third railing consists of Cavalry forces with men and horses dressed in war attire, the fourth railing consists of Makara which is a mystical animal as explained earlier and the sixth railing consists of Swans which hold set of beads in their beaks. Above the sixth railing the seventh railing consists of Wall images of all Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Upon reaching the Northern Entrance, the decoration changes from Wall images to small images of Courtesans, musicians, drummers etc., and great amount of detailing can be found here too.

History

This temple was built in 12th Century by King of Hoysala and renovated in 20th Century. A large amount of contribution was received from the Shaivas for the construction of the temple. Halebidu was a flourishing capital established under the Hoysala Dynasty, who ruled this region in the 12th Century. King Vishnuvardhana of Hoysala Dynasty was inspired by the place, that he decided to establish his capital here. It's popularly known as "Dwarasamudra". Muslim invader Mallik Kafur ran over the region, looted and destroyed the temples in 14th century A.D.

Temple Timings

Day Timings
All Days 06:30 AM - 09:00 PM

Tours










Airports

Airport Name Distance
Shamshabad 40 KM
Lorem Ipsum 12 KM

Railway Stations

Railway Station Name Distance
Secunderabad 10 KM
Nampally 12 KM
Begumpet 6 KM
Lingampally 20 KM

Bus Stations

Bus Station Name Distance
MGBS 35 KM
CBS 28 KM
kukatpally 20 KM
Lingampally 30 KM
Uppal 35 KM

Private Transports

Transport Name Distance Contact Number
Private Transport 8 KM 9546858757
Private Transport1 8 KM 9546858757
Private Transport1 8 KM 9546858757
Private Transport1 8 KM 9546858757
Private Transport1 8 KM 9546858757

Local Transports

Transport Name Distance Contact Number
Local Transport 5 KM 9546858757
Local Transport1 5 KM 9546858757
Local Transport1 5 KM 9546858757
Local Transport1 5 KM 9546858757
Local Transport1 5 KM 9546858757

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Nearest Attractions

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Waterfalls SHANTI FALLS
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Wildlife BHADRA WLS
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Mix of southern and Northern tropical dry deciduous forest

Distance:78.7 KM
Dam BHADRA DAM
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Intended towards increasing rice cultivation

Distance:82.3 KM

User Reviews

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HOYSALESHWARA TEMPLE

Halebeedu, Karnataka, India

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