The Hoysala Temples, Sante Bachahalli -K R Pete

K R Pete (Krishnarajapete) is a hub to Hoysala temples. One such small village of K R Pete is 'Sante Bachahalli', housing a few Hoysala temples. The most prominent among them is the Mahalingeshwara temple built during the 12th century. The temple has a simple structure when compared to other Hoysala temples, and its interiors and the Shikara are grand. There is a temple besides the main temple dedicated to Kalabhairava. Though the priest  was available,  he was quite busy attending and serving the devotees. This kept him from giving any details about the temple. There is an old board outside the temple that provides general information about the temple.

The Old Broad

Shikara of Mahalingeshwara Temple, Sante Bachahalli

Beautiful Carvings

Friezes

Pillars

Skillfully executed

Offerings

Lord Shiva in Gribhagriha

Dwarapalakas

 

From here we moved on to the Veeranarayana Temple located in the village center. The temple looked renovated from outside and we were unable to go inside the temple as the priest was unavailable. Our next was the Lord Hanuman temple, believed to have been built by the Vijayanagar Kings. The lord is carved out  beautifully  on a huge stone. 

Veeranarayana Temple

Inscriptions

Hoysala Temples of K R Pete: Hosaholalu, Kikkeri, Govindanahalli, Sheelanere, Sindaghatta, Tonachi, Hariharapura, Kalahalli, Agrahara Bachalli, Aghalaya  many more .

Guess the Structure

Any guesses about what this structure  is called???

Click here to know more about this structure.

Shivalaya and Jinalaya, Arsikere Hassan

Arsikere is a bustling town located on National Highway 206, connecting Tumkur and Honnavar districts. Arsikere literally means he queen's pond', it gets its name from a pond constructed by the Hoysalas in the 11th century. Arsikere is home to many beautiful temples. Among these, we visited the Ishwara temple and the Jain temple, both built during Hoysala period.

Shivalaya

The Ishwara temple or Shivalaya (local name)  is the second of our favorites amongst  the Hoysala temples, the first being  Basaralu. The temple consists of a garbhagriha, an antarala, an open navaranga, a porch and an unique mukhamandapa in the form of a sixteen pointed star.  We could not see the interiors of the temple as the priest, who carried he temple keys was out of town. The exterior is in a  star shape  and the shikhara is of Dravidian style with five talas, surmounted by a round stupa and kalasa at the top. The unique mukhamandapa is star shaped, having 13 outer pillars and 8 inner pillars. This mukhamandapa resembles a rock dome is very skillfully done and is truly a master piece of art. This temple is also called as Chandramouleshwara temple.

Rock Dome

Back View of the Temple

Monochrome Shikara

Perfect Symmetry

Defaced Garuda

Pillared Alley

Open Air Museum

 Jain temple is much simpler structure compared to Shivalaya, but worth a visit .

Central Lotus Ceiling

Places to visit around Arsikere: Anekere