Monday, May 16, 2011

The Hoysala Temple of Sheelanere, K R Pete, Mandya

          'K.R.Pete', a treasure trove is home to many wonderful temples built by the Hoysalas. Our hunt for unknown Hoysala temples, this time lead us to a place named Sheelanere. 'Sheelanere' is small village located in K.R.Pete taluk, Mandya district. The Eshwara temple here was built by the Hoysalas in 1157 AD. This beautiful soapstone temple is situated near a huge lake, but in ruined state.
Eshwara Temple Complex
The Big and Beautiful Lake
             The temple was locked, but were able to peep inside through the grills. There was another temple (renovated) that housed an idol of Kshetrapala Bhairava. There was also a small room having two hero stones. There are many hero stones and idols  scattered around the temple and the lake. The huge lake adds a lot of serenity to this place.
Eshwara Temple
The Entrance
Lord Eshwara
Kshetrapala Bhairava
Lord  Ganapathy
People carved on the Stone
Broken Hero Stone
Hero Stone
Hero Stones inside the small room
War Scene Depiction on Hero Stone
    'Hero stones' (Wiki) or 'Veeragallu'  are stone carvings depicting the culture that prevailed those days . Majority of the hero stones found have 3 Phases or Panels or Pattikas. The bottom phase depicts war scenes, the middle phase depicts the hero being led by the angels to heaven and the top phase depicts the worship of god. Some of the hero stones found here had four phases, the top most depicted a scene from Kailasa (Abode of Shiva), where the hero is entering Kailasa  in the presence of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi. 
 Hero Stone
Overall, this place is beautiful and serene.  

Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore - Mysore Road - B R Koppal - Right turn - Pandavapura - Take right turn at the direction board (Kannada) - Sheelanere
  
Distance from Bangalore:145 kms 


Places to visit nearby: K R Pete, Hosaholalu, Machalaghatta, Hariharapura, Chinkurli, Kere Tonnuru, Kikkeri, Sindhughatta and many more.

Trip date : 26 Jan '2011
 
Related Posts:
1. Chennakeshava temple, Aralaguppe
2. Hire Hadagali 
3. Top 100 temples of Karnataka
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Location: KR Pet, Mandya, SH-7, Channaraya Patna Road, Mandya, Mandya, Karnataka 571426, India

18 comments:

  1. Mari Sterling WilburMay 17, 2011 at 2:25 AM

    Wonderful photos - very interesting and informative!

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  2. Sylvia KMay 17, 2011 at 3:13 AM

    As always you've put together a fascinating and informative post with stunning captures! And as always, it is a delight to visit your blog! Hope your week is off to a great start! Enjoy!

    Sylvia

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  3. magiceyeMay 17, 2011 at 6:44 AM

    amazing pics and commentary!!

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  4. DeguideMay 17, 2011 at 8:07 AM

    Real discovery of sorts Dhiraj, admire your spirit for presenting the heritage. Kudos

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  5. SridharanMay 17, 2011 at 8:11 AM

    Excellent find..! I always enjoy reading your posts!

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  6. chitraMay 17, 2011 at 8:23 AM

    TGS,
    The temple; only a small portion is visible above the ground. I think major portion is below the ground.But you have manged well to get some good pictures of the interior though the temple, you say, was closed.
    Lake is beautiful .

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  7. R Niranjan DasMay 17, 2011 at 11:22 AM

    Lovely discoveries..

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

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  8. AnonymousMay 17, 2011 at 1:22 PM

    Very nice post. You guys keep giving surprises. Another place I need to visit. Thanks guys.
    Rajesh.

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  9. ArtiMay 17, 2011 at 1:48 PM

    Wonderful post as always... The pics indeed give out an air of serenity! Never exactly knew what hero stones are, fascinating to read about them, Thanks!

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  10. RajeshMay 17, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    Wonderful shots of the place. It is sad that place has been neglected.

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  11. AshMay 17, 2011 at 8:16 PM

    Amazing! The temple looks wonderful.

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  12. Sahana RaoMay 19, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    How I wish I knew someone from the media. I would have recommended you. You have wealth of information and the passion for travel and discovery.
    Super informative post.

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  13. Prashanth MMay 19, 2011 at 7:13 PM

    Wonder why the temple is below the ground, how it happened!!

    Useful information btw...

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  14. TeamgsquareMay 20, 2011 at 9:20 PM

    @ Spicy Sweet , Thanks for those wonderful word .
    @ Prashanth , We too wonder the same .
    @ Chitra madam , it had grilled steel door with sufficient space for camera lens to penetrate .

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  15. smMay 21, 2011 at 1:33 AM

    beautiful ancient pics
    gems

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  16. IndraniMay 21, 2011 at 5:31 PM

    New place for me to visit. Great pictures of the place.

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  17. KarthickMay 21, 2011 at 6:46 PM

    india has got of interesting places and history... there r lot of places which r of historic importance, yet not known widely.... seems this is one such place... looks amazing....the location and the stones r superb, so is ur photography....

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  18. YOSEEMay 21, 2011 at 7:14 PM

    What a wonderful place it must have been ! The broken veeragallus broke my heart !

    ReplyDelete

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