The Panchalingeshwara temple of Govindanahalli is one of the
few surviving Panchakuta (Pancha-five; Kuta-shrine) temples built during the
Hoysala period. Govindanahalli, an obscure village in the Krishnarajpet taluk
of Mandya district was once a flourishing town under Hoysala rule and is
believed to have been a part of the ancient Kabbahunadu. The temple was built
in the 13th century during the reign of the Hoysala king Veera Someshwara.
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| Sri Panchalingeshwara Temple, Govindanahalli |
Originally, this temple was a Chatushkuta (four shrined)
built in dravidian style. However, there was an addition of another garbhagriha
on the eastern side categorizing the temple under panchakuta type. Each
garbhagriha has a separate antarala, opening into a common navaranga. There are
two north facing entrances with Mukhamantapas and Nandimantapas. Unlike other
Hoysala temples which possess platform as a common feature, this temple is
devoid of the same. The five Shiva Lingas here are named Ishanyeshwara,
Tatpurusheshwara, Aghoreshwara, Vamadeveshwara and Sadyojateshwara, attributing
them to the Pandavas of Mahabharata.
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| The Five Shrines |
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| Demon Ravana Shaking Mount Kailash |
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| Narashima, Vamana, Parshurama and Rama (4th,5th, 6th and 7th of the Vishnu's Dasavatara) |
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| Matsya, Kurma and Varaha (1st,2nd and 3rd of Vishnu Dasavatara) |
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| Lord Vishnu and his incarnations |
The shikharas of all the five shrines are richly decorated
in dravidian style. An intriguing feature of this temple is that though the
temple is dedicated mainly to Lord Shiva, the outer walls of the temple carry
images of various forms of Lord Vishnu as a majority, similar to the
Malleshwara temple of Aghalaya. This may be due to the fact that the temple was
built during two different phases of Hoysala rule. There are some beautiful
sculptures inside the temple, that of Shanmukha, Ganesha, Mahishashuramardini
and so on. The lady care-taker in charge of the temple had maintained the
temple clean and tidy though she was unaware of any history or information
related to the temple. This temple is probably the only Panchakuta temple
surviving today which is in good shape compared to the others, namely the
Panchalingeshwara temple of Somanathapura and the Panchalingeshwara temple of
Halebidu, which are in complete ruins.
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| The Little Guide |
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| Saiva Dwarapalaka |
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| Nandi Mantapa |
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| The Ground plan of Panchalingeshwara Temple (From S Shettar The Hoysala Temples) |
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| The Ruined Temple |
References:
1. The Hoysala Temples - S Shettar
2. The temples of Karnataka - Dr. K M Suresh
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