ChennaKesava temple of Belur

Chennakeshava temple of Belur, Hoysaleswara temple at Halebidu and Somnathpur are the three iconic Hoysala Temples which everyone must include in their Karanataka itinerary.

Chennakesava temple at Belur has exceptional Madanika Sculptures, Lathe pillars, carved bay Ceilings, perforated windows, and Makar Toran. Temple festival is a beautiful affair here.

I can spend days and days admiring the skills of Ivory like carvings on stone , outside of these temples. Soft light of early morning and evening give the temple a graceful appearance, when sculptures glow and play of shade and light entices even a non-discerning eye. The morning and the evening Aartis in the temple are divine.

This post, I am dedicating with utmost reverence to the beautiful temple of Chennakeshava (beautiful Kesava) in Belur.

History of ChennaKesava Temple of Belur

Lord ChennaKesava- ‘beautiful Krishna’, is a much loved Avatar of Vishnu who is the presiding deity here. Hoysala king VishnuVardhan commissioned this temple in 1117 CE. As the name suggests, he was a devotee of Vishnu, a Vaishnavaite.

Lets enter the temple complex

Today we enter the temple complex through a large Gopuram. This Gopuram is a later addition. Upon entering, we face the front of the hall of this Ekkuta temple, which means it only has one sanctum.

In plan, Belur temple stands on a platform or Jagati. The Mandap or hall is indented square, or rather say, staggered square in plan whereas the sanctum follows a star shaped plan.

Before we enter the hall, meet the two huge sculptures of Sala killing the tiger which was state emblem of Hoysala Kingdom.

There are two small shrines flanking the stairs to the hall, which gives us an idea of the tower that adorned the sanctum of this temple.

The Navrang Mandap, Hall of the Chennakesava Temple, Belur

As is my rule of heart, I always first go inside the temple to bow at the feet of the deity. Temple is still a place of God, place of devotion first.

Its architectural and sculptural beauty does not rank second though. How can I put it as second when the people who took so much effort and had such godly skills to make a divine and impossibly intricate, intense adobe for the divine, had poured their devotion and skills on stone and converted it to a hymn.

As I enter the hall, I stop in the track at the extravagant beauty of the interior of the hall. I do not let it subsume me and I head directly towards sanctum.

Here again the carving and sculpture vie for my attention. I do not waver. After paying my obeisance to the Krishna, who was the eternal love of ‘Meera, the saint queen of Chittor in Rajasthan‘, whose Bhajans I love to sing, I pay my full attention to the hall.

1.The Rich entrance of the Santum Sanctorum

The two sculptures of dwarpalas of Lord Vishnu, Jai and Vijay always keep an eye on the devotees lest they enter the sanctum with worldly thoughts and desires.

Contrary to the popular practice of visiting temples for asking for fulfillment of desires, temples were and are to be visited solely to be with God without any reason, just for being with him, thanking him, remembering him.

The carved Toran decor of the entrance to Sanctum is as sharp and fine as if done in metal. The lowermost band of five conchs built in lace like finished, hang on the door as a fine door decor.

Above this band, twelve three dimensional carved figurines of dancers and musicians make another band. These figures remind us of being joyful that we are going to meet the lord.

Two huge Makars above both sides of the sanctum door open thiier mouth to carve out a extremely intricate Toran. Sculpture of LaxmiNarayana sits in the center of this Toran.

2. The Interiors of Navarang Mandap, Hall of Belur temple

Originally this hall was an open hall. The perforated screens that we see today covering this hall, were added some fifty years later. These screens are a special attraction in themselves but lets not discuss these for now.

2.a. Pillars of the Belur Temple

The 48 Lathe turned pillars divide the hall in 60 bays. Pillars vary in designs and each design is the best in itself. The bays have different ceiling patterns.

Though each pillar is worth admiring, the most exquisite are the four central pillars and the ceiling formed by these pillars. Out of these four pillars, the Mohini pilaar and Narsimha pillar are remarkable.

Mohini pillar has a charming sculpture of Vishnu as Mohini. Carved reliefs and miniatures embellish the Narsimha pillar in extravagance.

2.b. Ceiling of the Inner hall in Belur Temple

It is almost completely dark inside because of screens. A light is thrown at the ceiling at regular intervals. You can watch the wonderful ceiling in every detail in light.

When the light turned on and I stretched my neck to look straight above, I skipped my breath. The elaborate ceiling has a lotus bud hanging downwards in the center with Narsimha carved in the center.

Besides this, intricate carving also adorns other ceilings in various bays. Only that you have to have a flexible neck to admire these ceilings.

2.c. Bracket figures inside the Hall of Belur Temple

The four damsels posing as bracket figures between the top pf pillars and ceiling are to steal your heart. These are :

• Shuk Bhashini- lady in conversation with parrot
• Gandharv Dancer
• Lady drying and wringing her hair
• the fourth is said to be queen Shantala devi. She is the King Vishnuvardhan’s wife.

Today the tower above the sanctum is absent. But if you can imagine the tower taking clue from the small shrines at the entrance stairs to the hall, you can very well imagine how magnificent this temple would have looked.

Sculptures on the exterior walls of Belur Temple

If you are feeling awestruck by the interior of the temple, you are likely to faint by the opulent, extensive, detailed carving on the walls and sculptures adorning these walls.

What is special about Hoysala Sculptures?

The sculptures themselves are heavy, not as light and fluid as other master pieces of Indian sculptures on various temples are. However, the needle like craftsmanship used in the carving and adorning these sculptures is what gives Hoysala Sculptures a unique place in the treasure box of Indian Sculptures.

The sculptors were used to carve on the Ivory and Sandalwood , which definitely is a good medium to carve finer detail. The Hoysalas used Soapstone ( Chloritic Schist) for the temples. This stone is soft when it is quarried. This quality makes it an excellent material for sandalwood like carving. It gets hardened over time after coming in contact with air.

Thus the deftness of carving on Ivory for years and a wise selection of soap stone as material for sculpting resulted in such detailed and intricate carving on Hoysala Sculptures.

Variety of Sculptures

1. Huge sized Gods, goddesses, humans, animals, decorative motifs populate, rather over populate the outer walls. Contrary to the usual absence of other Gods except relating to Vishnu on the Vaishnav temples built by Hoysalas, this temple has sculptures of other Hindu gods also.

These Gods and godesses usually shown portraying the stories related to them like Krishna lifting the Govardhan mountain, Krishna playing flute, Narsimha slaying Hranakashyipu and like.

2. Then there are 38 bracket figures of maidens peering down at us from the overhanging eaves.

These are called as ” Madanikas” and each one is is a charmer and has a story to tell to keep you glued to them.

3. Base of the walls, ( not the platform or Jagati of the temple) is a study in itself. Horizontal bands divide the base into Friezes.

4. Perforated screens add to the beauty of the temple. These have very fine and lively sculptures, incorporated seamlessly between these open spaces.

A detailed post on the sculptures of the Belur temple with more images and information will be available soon.

Temple Festival in Chennakesava temple, Belur

What is a ‘Temple Festival’?

Every temple in south India holds a chariot festival once a year. During this festival, devotees carry the Utsav Murti of the main deity in palanquin or chariot around the temple.

These Utsav Murtis are ‘generally’ made of metal as compared to the main idols in the sanctum which are made of stone. Utsav Murtis always has a cheerful expression on face and their one hand blesses devotees.

Belur temple festival Dates

Annual Rathotsava is the major festival in Belur. It is celebrated in the month of March-April, 12 days after Ugadi or Kannadiga New Year. The festival is celebrated for two days.

The Utsav Murti here is a beautiful idol of Chennakesava. Bhu devi and Sri Devi accompany the Chennakesava. (Sridevi and Bhudevi are avatars of Laxmi, wife of Lord Vishnu.)

Read about the Hoysaleswara temple of Halebidu here.

Other shrines and structures in the Belur temple complex

• Kappe Chinnagaraya Temple- this temple has two sanctums, one for lord Vishnu and another for Venugopal ( Krishna playing the flute)
• Andal temple, Laxmi Narayan temple, another temple to Goddess Sridevi, and some other smaller shrines.
• It also has a temple pond, called as Kalyani in Karnataka.

How to visit Chennakesava Temple, Belur

• Belur is at 40 kms from Hassan, which is a suitable base for exploring the temples of Belur and Halebidu. You can also visit Other lesser known temples of Hoysalas from here.
• It is 200 kms from Bangalore and 16 kms from Halebidu temple.
• It is good to hire a guide if you do not have any idea of architecture and sculptures. They usually charge 300/-.

Temple Etiquettes

Please dress appropriately while visiting any religious site as per the local traditions. Cover your arms and wear something of below knee length.

Kindly note that this is a living temple; devotees have a first right.

Temple timings of Chennakesava Temple, Belur

As this is a living temples, darshan of deity is governed by Puja rituals and timings. The sanctum is closed from 10-11 am, 1-3 pm and 5-5.30 pm. However the temple is open to public from morning 7:30 am to 5:30 pm evening.

Lesser Known Temples of Hoysalas

Although Belur, Halebidu and Somnathpuram are the best representativetemples of Hoysala art and architecture, there is a wealth of other Hoysala temples worth exploring.

Read about these lesser known hoysala temples here.

You can also read about these lesser known hoysala temples here on team bhp.

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