Famous Temples in India

Architecture

SRI CHENNAKESHAVA TEMPLE - This temple was facing in East direction and constructed in Hoysala style of architecture. The garbha-griha is a stellate structure with sixteen pointed star plan. The navaranga is a square hall, measuring 20 feet square and its door has been reconstructed by materials from ruins as stated in an inscription dated 1920. The central roof is supported on four lathe-turned pillars, thus dividing the hall into nine equal compartments. These once wore four bracket images at each one, however these images are lost. Ceilings of the various sections of the hall are executed in different designs, mostly of concentric circles. Also are found concentric octagon, squares etc. The central ceiling has an arrangement of ashta-dikpalas on its lower bands. The adhishthana (platform) of the temple has arrangements of the characteristic Hoysala bands, six in numbers. These bands depicts, elephants, riders on horses, scroll work, blank frieze where Puranic scenes are usually carved, makaras and swans. Presence of these bands suggests that this temple belongs to the matured Hoysala phase. The external walls of the shrine are embellished with various icons of Vaishnava cult. Noticeable among these are Hayagriva, Vitthala, Venugopala, Yoga-Narasimha, Ugra-Narasimha, kevala-Narasimha, Vishnu over Adi-Shesha, Dhanvantari etc.

SRI KEDARESHWARA TEMPLE - This temple was facing in East direction and constructed in Hoysala style of architecture. The garbha-griha is modeled on a sixteen-pointed star plan, the shikhara (tower) of the temple has not survived. Gerard Foekema puts this vimana in full start category his reason being that the aedicule constituting this vimana are all turned on its axis and the vimana measures 4.8m in length. The navaranga is divided into nine equal compartments with its central roof supported on the shining lathe-turned pillars. The designs of each ceiling are different with the central one adorned with ashta-dikpala arrangement. Inside are found various loose sculptures, Surya with Usha and Pratyusha on either side of his feet, Vishnu, Kartikeya, Sarasvati and Sapta-Matrikas. There is one niche in the hall in which Ganesha is housed. A Nandi is also placed in navaranga facing the sanctum. The antarala and the sanctum are of the same size square. The antarala doorway has Uma-Maheshvara on lower lintel while Tandaveshvara on above lintel. Davrapals are placed on either wise of the doorway as separate sculptures. This temple belongs to the matured Hoysala architectural phase. This phase is distinguished by the series of the bands of the adhisthana of the temple and the eaves over the external wall images. Both these features are evident in this temple the arrangement of bands found here, over the adhishthana (platform) is consisted of six separate horizontal friezes. These are from below a frieze of elephants, a frieze of horse-men, scroll-work, empty band intended for Puranic sculptures, a frieze of makaras with riders on it and a band of swans. The frieze which is usually used for depicting Puranic scenes is empty here, which suggests that it was left incomplete by the sculptors. Among the various images adorning the external walls of the temple, some noticeable images are Gajasamharamurti, Arjun aiming for fish, three-legged Bhringi, Bhairava, Shiva as Tripurari, Durga, Nrrtti, Uma-Maheshvara, Kamadeva, Mahishasuramardini and Shiva as Tandaveshvara.