Sadashiva Temple – Nuggehalli

Nuggehalli village is a holy place having flamboyant, elegant, pleasant temples of Lord Vishnu and Shiva, belonging to the Hoysala period. This place has a historical past dating back to the early 1246 AD, during which, Hoysala King Someshwara ruled this region.

This is an unusual Hoysala temple built in the Ekakuta architecture with Nagara styled tower. The walls of the shrine and the Mantapa are severe looking as there is no sculptural decoration. Yet this temple is considered important from the architecture point of view. The temple is built on a Jagati and Soapstone is the material used. It is the most beautiful Hoysala Nagara temple that survives today. 

It conforms to the Nagara style architecturally with the presence of Nagara and the absence of Harantara recesses. The temple has a large “Linga” in its garbha gudi (sanctum sanctorum) and an equally large and extremely carved Nandi (bull) that sits in a room whose walls are made of small many windows carved in stone.

Also unique about this temple is one of its kinds life-size standing idol of the goddess Parvathi and also its unique Navagraha statues with unusual facing is another feature to be noted. There are two idols Lord Ganesh, one outside the Linga’s sanctum and the other at the entrance to the goddess’ sanctum.

In the common hall lie the beautifully carved statues of Chamundeshwari, Subramanya, Ganesha, Kala Bhairava, a carving containing the different avatars of Parvathi, and Soorya Narayana. The idols are unique as all the statues are carved with fine precision and that they are carved even from the back.

 A Bhumija element of architecture is reflected in the tower and the original temple consisted of a sanctum, a Sukanasi, Navaranga with porches and a Nandi mantapa. There is also a big hall with a shrine for the goddess, another hall on a lower level and a lofty Maha Dwara that exists today, was added to this original structure.

Nuggehalli is situated at the mid-point on the Tiptur-Channarayapatna state highway, the distance between them being around 60kms.