Hoysala temples

Why in news?

• Miscreants have desecrated and broken the idol of goddess Mahakali at the historic Hoysala era Lakshmi temple at Doddagaddavalli

About the temple:

• The Lakshmi Devi temple is located in Doddagaddavalli, a village in Hassan District of Karnataka.
•  The Lakshmi Devi temple, was built by the Hoysala Empire King Vishnuvardhana in 1114 C.E.
• It is one of the earliest known temples built in the Hoysala style and the building material is Chloritic schist, more commonly known as soapstone.
• The temple does not stand on a jagati (platform), a feature which became popular in later Hoysala temples.

Other famous Hoysala temples:

• Chennakesava Temple at Belur dedicated to Vishnu
• Hoysaleswara temple at Halebidu dedicated to Shiva
• The Kesava temple at Somanathapura dedicated to Vishnu
• Akkana Basadi Jain Temple at Shravanabelagola

Hoysala Architecture:

• Hoysala rulers were influenced by the Western Chalukyan architecture and demonstrates a distinct style different from Dravidian architecture of Tamil Regions.
• An abundance of figure sculpture covers almost all the Hoysala temples using episodes from mythology as themes.
• The Soapstone, which allows fine detailing and clarity was used as building material to enable the sculptures.
• Hoysala temples  are sometimes built on a raised platform or jagati which is used for the purpose of a pradakshinapatha.
• They are also noted for their vimanas which are either stellate, semi–stellate or orthogonal in plan.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following pairs of temples and the dynasties which built them:
1.Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple : Cholas
2.Pattadakkal Virupaksha Temple : Chalukyas
3.Puri Jagannatha Temple : Eastern Gangas
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?
(a)1 and 2 only
(b)1 and 3 only
(c)2 and 3 only
(d)1,2,3 only

Answer to prelims question