Hosaholalu is a small town near Krishnarajapet in Mandya district of Karnataka state, India.

Location

Hosaholalu is located two km west of Krishnarajapet town on the Bherya road.

Lakshmi Narayana Temple

The Lakshminarayana Temple is located in Hosaholalu. It was built by King

Vira Someshwara Vira Someshwara () (1234–1263) was a king of the Hoysala Empire. The preoccupation of Vira Narasimha II in the affairs of Tamil country resulted in neglect of northern territories and he had to face Seuna incursions south of the Tungabhadr ...

of the

Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Kingdom was a kingdom originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka, parts of Tamilnadu and South-Western Telangana between the 11th and the 14th centuries Common Era, CE. The c ...

in 1250 CE. The dating of the temple is based on the style of the sculptures and architecture that compares closely with the contemporary Hoysala monuments at

Javagal Javagal is a town in the southern state of Karnataka, India.town code= 2496100 Javagal, Tiptur, Karnataka It is located in the Arsikere taluk of Hassan district in Karnataka. The Lakshminarasimha temple, built in 1250 A.D., is an important ...

Nuggehalli The Lakshmi Narasimha temple is a 13th-century Hindu temple with Hoysala architecture in Nuggehalli village, Hassan district, Karnataka, India. This three shrine Vaishnava complex is dedicated to Keshava, Lakshmi Narasimha and Venugopala. It was ...

and

Somanathapura Somanathapura, also spelled Somnathpur temple or Somanathpura is a town in T Narasipura Taluk, Mysore district in the state of Karnataka in India.

. The town of Hosaholalu is about from

Hassan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

and from the heritage city of

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, the cultural capital of Karnataka state.Foekema (1996), p71 The temple is a splendid example of a ''trikuta''

vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also menti ...

(three shrined) temple though only the central shrine exhibits a tower (superstructure or ''

Shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

'') on top.Quote:"Depending on the number of towers, the temples are classified as ekakuta (one shrine and tower), dvikuta (two), trikuta (three), chatushkuta (four) and panchakuta (five). Most Hoysala temples are ekakuta, dvikuta or trikuta", Foekema (1996), p25 The lateral shrines are square in construction with five projections and no special features. The central shrine is well decorated and its tower has a ''

sukanasi In Hindu temple architecture a sukanasa (, IAST: śukanāsa) or sukanasi is an external ornamented feature over the entrance to the garbhagriha or inner shrine. It sits on the face of the sikhara tower (in South India, the vimana) as a sort of ant ...

'' (called "nose") which is actually a lower tower over the vestibule that connects the shrine (cella containing the image of the deity) to the hall (''mantapa''). The ''sukanasi'' looks like an extension of the main tower over the central shrine.Foekema (1996), p22 The material used for the temple construction is chloritic schist, more commonly known as

Soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in sub ...

.Kamath (2001), p136 The temple is built on a '' jagati'' (platform), a Hoysala innovation that elevates the temple by about a metre.Quote:"The Jagati serves the purpose of a ''pradakshinapatha'' (circumambulation) as the shrine has no such arrangement", Kamath (2001), p135Quote:"This is a Hosala innovation", According to art critic Gerard Foekema, the temple as a whole exhibits the "new style" and belongs to the 2nd phase of Hoysala building activity (13th century), with two sets of eaves, and six moldings at the base of the outer wall.Quote:"A eave is a projecting roof overhanging a wall", Foekema (1996), p93 The first eave is located where the superstructure meets the temple outer wall and the second eave runs around the temple and about a metre below the first eave. In between the two eaves are decorative miniature towers on pilasters (called

Aedicule In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ''O ...

), with sculptured wall images of Hindu deities and their attendants below the second eave. Being a

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

temple (a Hindu sect), most of the images represent some form of Hindu god

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, his consort and his attendants. There are a hundred and twenty such images. In all there are twenty four sculptures of Vishnu standing upright holding in his four arms the four attributes, a

conch Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high Spire (mollusc), spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ...

, a

wheel A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machin ...

, a

lotus Lotus or LOTUS may refer to: Plants * List of plants known as lotus, a list of various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: **''Nelumbonaceae'', a single-genus family of aquatic flowering plants, consisting of just two species; ...

and a mace in all possible permutations.Foekema (1966), p72 Below the panel of deities is the base of the wall consisting of six decorative rectangular moldings of equal width which run all around the temple.Quote:"Generally, Hoysala temples built in the 13th century have 6 mouldings ("new style") while those built a century earlier have 5 mouldings ("old style")" Foekema (1996), p28 The six horizontal mouldings are intricately sculptured and are called

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

s.Quote:"A rectangular band of stone decorated with sculpture", Foekema (1996), p93 Seen from top to bottom; the first frieze depicts birds (''hansa''), the second depicts aquatic monsters (''

makara Makara () is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, and of the god of the ocean, Varun ...

''), the third frieze has depictions of

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

epics and other mythological and

puranic Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

stories narrated in the clockwise direction (direction of devotee circumambulation), the fourth frieze has leafy scrolls, the fifth and sixth friezes have a procession of horses and elephants respectively.Foekema (1966), p29 In the frieze that depicts the epics, the

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

starts from the western corner of the southern shrine and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

starts from the northern side of the central shrine vividly illustrating the demise of many heroes of the famous war between

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

s and

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his ...

s.Foekema (1966), p72 The interior of the temple consists of a closed hall (''mantapa'') of modest size with four polished lathe turned pillars supporting the roof.Quote:"This is a common feature of Western Chalukya-Hoysala temples", Kamath (2001), p117 The four central pillars divide the hall into nine equal "bays" (compartments) and nine decorated ceilings.Quote:"A bay is a square or rectangular compartment in the hall", Foekema (1966), p93 The sanctum of the three shrines contain the images of Venugopala,

Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Pu ...

in the middle and Lakshminarasimha; all forms (

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

) of Vishnu.

Notes

References

* Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide To Hoysala Temples, 1996, Abhinav, * Suryanath U. Kamat, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002) OCLC: 7796041 * * *{{cite web, author=Kamiya Takeo, title=Architecture of Indian Subcontinent, url=http://www.indoarch.org/place.php?placelink=R%3D5%2BS%3D18%2BP%3D0%2BM%3D0, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040328061343/http://www.indoarch.org/place.php?placelink=R%3D5%2BS%3D18%2BP%3D0%2BM%3D0, url-status=usurped, archive-date=28 March 2004, publisher=Architecture Autonomous, work=Indian Architecture, accessdate=2006-11-13 Villages in Mandya district