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Sunday, June 5, 2011

The Hoysala Temple, Nagalapura , Tumkur

          This post is about the Chennakeshava Temple which is another small and beautiful temple of Nagalapura. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the favourite god of the Hoysalas. Any number of adjectives used to describe the Hoysala architecture seems insufficient. They are undoubtedly one amongst  the best architects of the world. There are very interesting one line legends about the temple some of which are that, this temple was built in a single day, built in single stone and many more.
Chennakeshava Temple
   The temple, built on a platform is poly angled (like many other Hoysala temples). It is an Ekakuta temple. The exterior and  interior of the temple are equally decorative and carry intricate carvings. The ceilings are magnificent and uniquely carved. The Garbagriha houses an idol of Lord Chennakeshava. The pillars are huge and carry a few motifs .
Ceiling -1
Ceiling -2
 Ceiling -3
Ceiling -4
Ceiling -5
 Ceiling -6

Lord Vishnu on the Lintel
Lord Cheluvanarayana  on the Lintel
The huge Pillars
An example of Skill and Patience!
Intricate !!!!
Lord Chennakeshava
       Our guide was a young boy of the village and seemed quite interested in sharing the history and legends of the temple. The outer walls of the temple are extremely artistic and contain carvings of various gods and goddesses.
Our Guide
Faded Entrance
Pattikas
Side view of the Temple
Mahishasuramardhini
Most intricate and  an amazing carving  (note the minute detailing)
     Nagalapura is a great place to enjoy architectural beauty. The Kedareshwara temple is being looked after by the ASI and has a permanent care taker, who resides in the neighboring village. The keys to the Chennakeshava temple are kept in a house nearby the temple. 

Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore - NH48 - Right turn  towards Myasandra - Myasandra - Left turn after 3 kms (There is school on the right side ) - Left turn at the dead end - Right turn after 6 kms there is a board in Kannada - Nagalapura 
 
Distance from Bangalore:125 kms 

Places to visit nearby: Tandaga, Hulikal, Nonavinkere, Vignasanthe, Turuvekere and many more

Trip date : 27 Feb '2011

Reference: The hours - My Memoir 

Related Posts:
1. Shri Chennakeshava Temple, Tandaga 
2. Top 100 lesser known temples of Karnataka
3. Shri Chennakeshava Temple, Kaidala

21 comments:

  1. SANDEEP PANWARJune 6, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    इतिहास का वैभव दर्शाती हुई, तस्वीरे,
    तथा मार्ग बताने का तरीका अच्छा लगा,

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sylvia KJune 6, 2011 at 12:26 AM

    What an awesome, breathtaking place! Thank you, as always, for sharing the beauty of your country and culture! And, yes, I too believe that all things are possible. Have a wonderful week!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  3. ArtiJune 6, 2011 at 6:59 AM

    Another fascinating post... You are right no adjectives will describe the place, the legends are also fascinating...
    The pics are beautiful, loved them...
    Have a nice week:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. magiceyeJune 6, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    exquisite work!!
    thank you so much for sharing this

    ReplyDelete
  5. SridharanJune 6, 2011 at 11:42 AM

    Hoysala architecture, though looking similar, I dont get fed up seeing them. Wonderful pictures TGS.!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 6, 2011 at 4:06 PM

    Nagalpaura is a must see place. Nice temples. It is unfortunate that the caretaker of the Kedareshwara temple is always away from the place and hence it remains closed. Fortunately that is not the case with Channakeshava temple.

    Rajesh.

    ReplyDelete
  7. chitraJune 6, 2011 at 9:58 PM

    wonderful interiors. Loved the pics of ceiling.

    ReplyDelete
  8. DeguideJune 7, 2011 at 8:16 AM

    This temple i don t think i have seen or heard about,thanks for bring it up Dhiraj.

    ReplyDelete
  9. RajeshJune 7, 2011 at 10:00 AM

    Beautiful shots. The patterns in the ceiling are amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mari Sterling WilburJune 8, 2011 at 10:47 AM

    I love your photography and informative post. Very interesting history. Your guide looks very nice too.

    Regards, Mari

    ttp://www.mariscamera.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. MoJune 9, 2011 at 1:57 AM

    Magnificent

    ReplyDelete
  12. IndraniJune 10, 2011 at 10:33 PM

    This temple is a treasure. Beautiful shots.

    ReplyDelete
  13. smJune 11, 2011 at 2:21 AM

    beautiful pics
    ceiling pics great shots

    ReplyDelete
  14. joshi danielJune 12, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    the ceiling looks extraordinary!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fresh GardenJune 12, 2011 at 9:51 PM

    Wonderful! Outstanding!

    ReplyDelete
  16. AshJune 13, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Very nice images! Stunning architecture.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hari NarayanaNovember 1, 2011 at 9:44 PM

    Good Job all you guys! Your posts are amazing...

    ReplyDelete
  18. srajendrappaNovember 14, 2014 at 12:35 PM

    Congrats for the photographs. But there is a factual error regarding the date of the Temples. Pl refer Mandya District Gazetteer and Epigraphia Carnatica Volume VI for rectification

    ReplyDelete
  19. weekend travelogueSeptember 28, 2015 at 8:26 AM

    I missed the place as the people directed me to a place near bellur, which has two structures. can you please post the google map or some more details of reaching there from bangalore /turuvekere

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TeamgsquareNovember 24, 2015 at 8:52 PM

      https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Nagalapura,+Karnataka/@13.0860794,76.6733253,13z/data=!4m6!1m3!3m2!1s0x3bbacb85d4fc01b9:0x5004dafde74db390!2sHalebeedu+-+Kedareshwara+Temple!3m1!1s0x3bafe463d1116be5:0xc993315b7c007582

      apologies for the delayed response

      Delete
  20. Devaraj MudigereMay 3, 2016 at 4:23 PM

    Its my grandma village, beside to my village. There is a school beside channakeshava temple, this is where i started my 1st standard.

    ReplyDelete