- Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu
- ChennaKesava temple of Belur
The Hoysaleswara temple of Halebidu, also called as Halebidu Temple, is like a Flower shower in Stone. Just like other Hoysala temples, this temple too is a modest structure, but exceptional in sculptural art.
Who built Hoysaleswara Temple Halebidu?
King Vishnuvardhan Raya of the Hoysala dynasty built the Hoysaleswara Temple of Halebidu. Its construction started around 1121 CE and was complete in 1160 CE.
Who were the Hoysalas?
The Hoysala Empire was founded by King Nripa Kama II who built an alliance with the Western Ganga dynasty. ( Western Gangas were the ancient dynasty of Karnataka, who built Shravanabelagola and Kadambahalli).
After him, his sons and further generations ruled until Veera Ballala I, who died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother Vishnuvardhana Raya.
The Hoysalas ruled a large part of modern day Karnataka and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu from the 10th to the 14th century. Historians consider them to have been natives of the Malnad region in Karnataka but inscriptions also point towards connections with the Yadavas from North India.
They built more than thousand temples during their reign, out of which only a few have survived.
What does a name of the Shiva temple in South India indicate?
Shiva temples name in South India often ends with ‘Iswara/eswara” like Brihdeeswara temple of Tanjavur, Airateswara Temple of Darasuram and so on.
The first part in name could either be any common name of Shiva like Nageswara Temple, Kedareswara temple or it could be the name of the person who built the temple like “Hoysaleswara Temple” meaning temple of Iswar of Hoysalas.
What is the meaning of Halebidu
Halebidu was the regal capital of Hoysala dynasty. Its name in those days was Dorasamudra or Dwarasamudra. Malik Kafur invaded and ransacked it twice in the early 14th Century. Thus the capital and temples fell into ruin and neglect.
Halebidu in Kannada means “Old Encapement/ old abode.” After Malik Kafur’s plunder and vandalism, it was called as Halebidu, the old capital.
Plan of Hoysaleswara temple Halebidu
Like all other Hoysala temples, this temple too has a porch, a mandap or Hall and a Grabh-grih (Sanctum). Because it is a Shiva temple, it also has Nandi Pavillion facing the temple sanctum.
As compared to Chennakeshava temple at Belur which had one cella, this temple has two Sanctum cells and is thus Dwi-Kuta (having two halls and two sanctums side by side) in its architectural plan. The two Mandapas are connected and thus make a large Navrang Hall.
The twin temples here are named as Hoysaleswara (King) temple and Santleswara (his queen ) temple. Each have their own Nandi Pavillion.
The hall is a staggered square in plan while the sanctum is star shaped in plan.
Jagati- Base of the Temple
The temple stands on a platform called as Jagati. The platform is the base on which the whole edifice of the temple stands.
Architecturally, it always follows the pattern of the main temple layout of Hoysala temples , and gives viewers a place to appreciate the rich decorations on the outside of Hoysala temples.
Functionally, the platform is Pradakshina path for devotees, where one always moves in a clockwise direction to circum-ambulate the God.
Doors to enter Mantapa, Navrang Hall
The Hoysaleswara temple of Halebidu has four entrances. Dwarpalas, the doorkeepers of the three gates are mutilated and lintels above doors defaced. Dwarpalas at the fourth gate are missing. The raiding Delhi Sultnate left its poisonous fangs for all of us to see.
Dwarpalas are heavily carved like the sandalwood carving, which is a hallmark of the Hoysala Art.
Lathe pillars inside the Navrang Mantapa
Inside, the lathe pillars, iconic of Hoysala architecture, support the ceilings. These are excellent in execution but not as intricate as in Belur temple. The four pillars, facing the Grabhgrih are more ornate than other pillars and these also have Madanika- female figures as bracket figures.
Originally there were four bracket figures per pillar, thus a total of 32 figures for two halls, but now only 11 of these have survived.
From the hall, a vestibule- Suknasi, connects to the inner sanctum called Garbh-grih which has Shiv-Linga as the main deity. The doorway before Suknasi is flanked by two Dwarpalas and a lintel above with a Makar Toran.
The two halls, as it is two-sanctum temple, are connected at the center of the plan.
Outer walls of Halebidu Temple
The outer wall of the Halebidu temple is exuberance, vigor and gay abandonment, brought to life in stone. It is an immortal portfolio of the mere mortals; created by their patience of the years with eagerness of the skilled fingers.
The Hoysala artist, while sculpting the large sculptures of gods and goddesses, have embellished all of them with extraordinary elaborate hairdos, extensive amount and detail in jewellery adorning the neck and waist, and fitting these images in independent Niche made of creepers and foliage.
The Horizontal band- Friezes at the Base of the wall
Artwork on the lower part of outer walls of the Hoysala temple are in bands. The positioning of bands in Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu from bottom to top, is as follows-
- Marching Elephants
- Lions
- Miniature Scrolls
- Galloping horses with horsemen
- narrative band of stories from Ramayan, Mahabharat, and Puranas
- Makaras
- Birds
- Band depicting day-to-day life of people
- Lastly the parapet wall band depicts the various aspects of human life comprising of various occupations, erotic scenes and some other scenes from stories
Listing the stories depicted in the friezes will turn my post in a book; better you hire a guide. We too hired a guide and it helps in more than one way.
While many of the stories we could ourselves identify, still he knew more than us. Besides, he kept kids glued to his stories and scenes. My kids also knew most of these stories from years of feeding on Amar Chitra Katha. However, they don’t like to stay with us if it takes too long to identify.
Large Images above the Horizontal Band
Unlike the narrative bands in base, large freizes do not tell the story in a narrative form. Rather, most of these panels show gods and godesses in the midst of iconic stories related to them.
Narrative bands did not have the space for extra-fine detail, they were mainly for depicting the story.
Here, these images surpass the feature of story depiction by profuse ornamentation, minute detailing on every aspect from hair to weapons to mounts, and the creepers and foliage decorating the niche which these sculptures occupy.
Again, there are so many sculptures that listing down will need a book. I will give the same advice – hire a guide!
Nandi Pavillions at Halebidu Temple
There are two Nandis, sitting in Dhyan mode, constantly looking at their Lord – Shiva. Lathed pillars support these pavillions.
The modelling is life like, and the detail in their neck jewellery, detail in their toes, detail of the tail is what will keep you glued to them for a long time. Do pay your full attention to this aspect!
Other Monuments, Inscriptions at Halebidu Temple
There are interesting inscriptions and other structures in this temple complex about which you can read at Wikipedia in detail.
Other Monuments to see in Halebidu
The Hoysaleswara temple is the main attraction in Halebidu. Besides, It also has Kedareswara temple and three Jain Basadis.
King Vishnuvardhana’s was earlier a Jain and his original name then was Bittideva. He later converted to Vaishnavite faith under the influence of Ramanujam. His queen Shantaladevi still remained in Jain faith.
They also patronized Jain monuments. These three Jain Basadis (Shrines) are the testimony of those tumultuous times when Jainism began to decline in South India.
The three Jain Basadis are located on the way to Kedareswara temple. Read about these here.
How to get to Halebidu
Halebidu is in Hassan District of Karnataka. It is at a distance of 17 km from Belur, 34 km from Chikmagalur, 32 km from Hassan, 148 km from Mysore & 211 km from Bangalore.
You can thus easily visit it as part of the larger trip or as an independent day out from Bangalore and Mysore.
Where to stay in Halebidu
It is better to stay at Hasssan and explore Belur and Halebidu from there. Hassan has all range of accommodations and plenty of eating options.
Read one of your posts after a long time. Very crisp and well articulated w/o making it sound like a complex architecture science.
My bro-in-law got married at Haasan and I was there during the weeding. I do recall asking around on any quick travel detour but I do not remember anyone talking about Hoyasala temples. I do remember though reading on/about them on Laxmi Sharath’s blog, long time back. So now looking back, it seems like a lost opportunity. May be something else may bring me here. Thanks again.
Welcome Nandan.
The three iconic temples of Hoysala Dynasty- Belur, Halebidu and Somnathpur, are as spectacular as the Unesco sites of Hampi, Khajuraho or Cholas or any other site. These have not yet been granted this tag. Come again, take my car and roam around with my suggested itinerary.
Btw, Belur blog is live now and you can look at what you missed.