Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas

Why in news?

• The Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This will be India’s 42nd UNESCO World Heritage Site.

About Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas:

• Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas comprises three temples in Karnataka namely the Channakeshava temple in Belur, the Hoysaleshvara temple in Halebidu and the Keshava temple in Somanathapura.
• These temples were constructed during the 12th and 13th centuries by the Hoysala kings and are dedicated to deities Shiva and Vishnu.

Chennakeshava Temple:

• Chennakeshava Temple is also referred to as Vijayanarayana Temple of Belur. It is a 12th-century temple.
• It is located on the banks of Yagachi River (also called Badari River in historic texts), a tributary of Hemavati River.
• The temple was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 CE, on the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur also called Velapura, an early Hoysala Empire capital.
• The temple is devoted to Vishnu.
• The richly sculptured exterior of the temple narrates scenes from the life of Vishnu and his reincarnations and the epics, Ramayana, and Mahabharata. However, some of the representations of Shiva are also included.

Hoysaleshvara temple in Halebidu:

• Hoysaleswara temple also referred simply as the Halebidu temple is a 12th-century temple dedicated to Shiva.
• It is located on the banks of Dwarasamudra tank.
• The temple was built in 1121CE during the reign of the Hoysala King, Vishnuvardhana Hoysaleshwara.
• The temple is most well-known for the more than 240 wall sculptures that run all along the outer wall. 

Keshava Temple- Somanathapura:

• Keshava Temple is a Vaishnava temple on the banks of River Kaveri at Somanathapura, Karnataka.
• The temple was consecrated in 1258 CE by Somanatha Dandanayaka, a general of the Hoysala King Narasimha III.
• The temple is enclosed in a courtyard with a pillared corridor of small shrines (damaged). The main temple in the center is on a high star-shaped platform with three symmetrical sanctums (garbha-griha).
• The western sanctum was for a statue of Kesava (missing), the northern sanctum of Janardhana and the southern sanctum of Venugopala, all forms of Vishnu.

About Hoysala Architecture:

• Hoysala architecture is the building style developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire between the 11th and 14th centuries, mostly concentrated in southern Karnataka.
• Hoysala temples are sometimes called hybrid or vesara as their unique style seems neither completely Dravida nor Nagara, but somewhere in between.

Features:

• The Hoysala temples, instead of consisting of a simple inner chamber with its pillared hall, contain multiple shrines grouped around a central pillared hall and laid out in the shape of an intricately-designed star.
• The most characteristic feature of these temples is that they grow extremely complex with so many projecting angles emerging from the previously straightforward square temple, that the plan of these temples starts looking like a star, and is thus known as a stellate-plan.
• Since they are made out of soapstone which is a relatively soft stone, the artists were able to carve their sculptures intricately. This can be seen particularly in the jewellery of the gods that adorn their temple walls.
• They are easily distinguishable from other medieval temples by their highly original star-like ground-plans and a profusion of decorative carvings.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding ‘Hoysala Architecture’?

1. It is mostly concentrated in southern Karnataka.

2. Hoysala temples are a mix of Dravida and Nagara temple architectural style.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer