Amrutesvara Temple, Amruthapura -Part 2

The temple deity is worshiped on all days of the year, complete with Naivedya, accompanied with the chanting of mantras. Surrounded by lush greenery on all sides, the age-old temple is a feast for the eyes. Even though, the Amruthapura temple in itself very interesting with its Instinctive intelligible art. However, the tranquility is all around, which is the most beautiful part about this village.

 

Scenes from the Epic Ramayana are sculpted on the south side wall on 70 panels with the story proceeding anti clockwise which is unusual. On the north side wall, all depictions are clockwise, the normal Hoysala style. 25 panels depict the life of Lord Krishna and the remaining 45 panels depict the Epic Mahabharata. The large stone inscription near the porch is an excellent example of medieval Kannada poetry composed by the famous poet Janna.

This temple stands out for its exquisite images of intricately sculpted figures of women in different poses found on the exterior walls. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. The intricate workmanship includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological epics, and sensuous dancers.

The bull Nandi stands guard at the entrance in the porch. I observed that these temples had barely any light inside, giving them a very private, sacred feel. When you come out, the sun’s glare seems particularly strong and you are forced to shade yourself such is the contrast between inside and out.

It’s aesthetically crafted by experts in compliance with set quality standards and is highly durable in existence and magnificent in appearance. The tranquility something inexplicable happens here is only to be experienced in solitude. I spent hours just savoring each piece of artwork and understanding its significance. The whole environment gets aromatic by saffron shower on idols from sky at some times.

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....

Yoganarasimha Temple - Baggavalli

Baggavalli village near Gondedahalli has a very unique 12^th century Hoysala temple relics of past glory! It is said that Baggavalli originally known as Bhargavapura in inscriptions and the village was an Agrahara on its past. The structure was built during the Hoysala king Ballala-III period. (1239 AD) and it seems to be the oldest temple and most neglected temple on this village.

Baggavalli is a Village in Tarikere Taluk in Chikmagalur District which is 17.2 km distance from its Taluk Main Town Tarikere .Last weekend Rajesh Sir chosen to visit this place so I and two of my friends joined him and as his plan we reached this place by 3pm. This temple built in Hoysala-Vesara –Style, temple refers to grant of Amritapadi.

 

Temple is popularly called Yoganarasimha but actually the dedication of the structure was made to Keshava. The temple is star shaped in plan and has a Vesara Sikhara.

 

This Trikuta temple consists of Girbhagraha, Sukhanasi and Navaranga, elegantly decorated pillars and doorjambs are attractive. The deity in the sanctum sanctorum is Keshava, which is about 1.52 meters in height. The temple is one of the few examples of simple star shaped structures.

Shrine of Lakhsmi, Stands near by which is simple square structure, Yoganarasimha sculpture is also found in the same structure; besides Shanmukha Ganesh and Lakshmi Narayana figures are found.