Amrutesvara Temple, Amruthapura

Delightful moments! Amritheshwara temple has given us embraced one of the richest and most prolific Hoysala styles of architecture which relics of our past glory! The temple proudly flaunts the architecture and flawless craftsmanship of Hoysala, which can be viewed at a wide open hallway. A Sanctuary of peace where we can let goes and enjoys the divine of God and also majestic Hoysala craftsmanship!

I awaited and get excited to view the Amrutesvara temple since long time finally we four headed to visit this superb and magnificent temple. We spent a small time between elephant hurdle in Tavaregoppa, later a freshening view of backwater we reached the temple. The beautiful Temple complex is surrounded by the Areca nut & Coconut plantations and the surroundings near the temple are wide and mesmerizing as full of greenery temple can be viewed around it.

It was erected in 1196 A.D by Amriteshwara Dandanayaka, a general of the Hoysala ruler Veera Ballala II. Ruvari Mallitamma, the famous Hoysala sculptor and architect started his career here working on the domed ceilings in the main Mantapa (Hall).

The temple still has its original outer wall with interesting, equally spaced circular carvings and the outer wall of the temple is still unique and original with no renovations at all. Its carvings still appears magnificent and equally spaced that turns the work into a masterpiece. Within the temple, there is merely one shrine that head-on links to the Mantapa.

 In total, there are 29 bays in the Hall that leads to another shrine in the south side via a side porch. The shrine appears beautiful and is of a perfect square shape. Its sculptures are sharply edged and this incredible workmanship is undoubtedly unparalleled. However, below this superstructure, the panel containing Hindu deities isn’t available, which is quite surprising. Five moldings are carved on the base of the wall, which is in older Hoysala style.

The rows of the shinning lathe are the specialty of this temple that turns the pillar, which supports the ceiling of Mantapa. Adorned with the floral designs, Mantapa retains myriad deeply domed ceiling structures that appear marvelous and fabulous every time you see them. On the other hand, 140 panels of sculptures depicting the Hindu epics are layered on the outer wall of the open Mantapa. Unlike most of the Hoysala temples, the panels here in Amrutesvara temple are large sized.

To be Continued....