Lakshminarsimha Temple - Bhadravathi

Temple, when we hear this word the scene that comes to our mind usually comprises of the images of God and Goddess, bells and incense sticks, combined with a feeling of calmness. Beyond of all this it’s a symbol of our past architectural attainment and it shows skill of sculptors.

We had a wonderful trip in one fine Sunday; everything went like clockwork as my friend Rajesh Sir expectation. By 11AM we reached the temple which situated in old town of Bhadravathi. This temple built by the Hoysala rulers (Veera Narasimha, the grandson of Vishnuvardhana) in 13^th century, it’s highly acclaimed by the each visitor for its architecture, sacredness and serenity.

It is famous for its uniqueness in architecture, which reflects the true spirit of the traditional activities. From its meaningful and distinctive shrine, its magnificent exclusive idols were really fistful to eyes.

A beautiful Garuda Stamba greeted us while we entered the courtyard and the temple is sprawled on either side with perfect proportion. Apart from this, there’s a stone pillar on a small pedestal. The temple has 3 Gopurams (towers) and hence also known as Threekutachala temple. On the outer walls of the temple are carvings of great detail in Hoysala style.

This temple raised on star shaped platform the temple made of soapstone, consists of a Garbhagriha (sanctum) a Navaranga and a Mukhamantapa. It is particularly noteworthy that the niche work and beauty of the five idols in Garbhagriha. The Navaranga pavilion is a large hall with beautifully designed pillars and ceiling and has entrances on the east.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Lakshminarsimha  has some beautiful images inside the temple premises. The Sanctum hall has a large beautifully carved image of Lakshminarsimha (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) exceedingly graceful on the other. Lord Venugopal, Lord Purushottama, Lord Ganesha, Goddess Sharadamba along with Lord Narasimha is one of the finest specimens. It’s decorated with a narrow band of filigree work and could be considered as the best representations of the Hoysala sculptural art.

The outer walls of the temple bear great detailed carvings in Hoysala style. This trip is still one of the most unforgettable trips I have made in Shimoga district.