Hoysala Architecture Trip
Well, I have now completed 3 Hoysala temples (Somnathpur where I went with my dad way back in 2004, Belur and Halebidu) out of the 92 temples that they built. I know about the whereabouts of one more in Arsikere, but am unaware of the others.
I just came back from a trip to Belur, Halebidu and Sharavanabelagola. Myself, Kalyan, Shaishav, Govind and Rathi started at around 6 30 in the morning from Koramangala and reached Badami house early. After breakfast, we boarded the bus at around 8 30 AM and reached our first stop, Shravanabelagola at around 12 noon. Shravanabelagola is situated in Haasan district and is a Jain pilgrimage centre. It has the statue of Gomateshwara and there are 650 steps to climb. But its not hard work.We were given 60 minutes by our driver to complete this. The whole problem with going on such arranged tours is that you don’t get enough time at a place and you are always rushing from one place to the other. The idea is to complete a mission, but then if you are busy and working and can take only some time out, you don’t have a choice. We felt refreshed after we came back and boarded the bus. We stopped for lunch then
Our next stop was Halebidu and most of us in the bus were taking a mid afternoon nap and suddenly was aroused by the shrill voice of our guide, who announced our arrival at Halebidu.
Halebidu is a Shiva temple.
Halebidu looks beautiful on the outside with a garden and lake and its a great place for a picnic (if you leave nearby). Our guide explained a lot of facts with an unusual mix of humour. Halebidu houses amazing engravings from the Nandi’s ( The Department of Archelogy recognizes only 8 Nandi’s, forgot what the recognistion was for) to Lord Vishu’s different avataras and Abhimanyu in the Chakravyuha to Bhima throwing elephants. Halebidu was plundered twice by the general of Alaudin Khilji in the 13th century and some of the engravings are missing. Some devedasi engravings stolen by the British are now kept on display in some museum in London.
Halebidu has a seven layered structural architecture with elephants being engraved at the bottom. Elephants stand for stability. This is then followed by the lion for ferocity or power, flowers for beauty, horses for speed, flowers again and peacocks…forgot the rest
While Halebidu is known for its outer beauty, Belur is known for the beauty inside. We discussed the Mahabharata inside the bus and suddenly realised that we had reached Belur. Belur is a bigger temple and has a gopura that was built later. None of the Hoysala temples have gopuras and the gopura here was built later.
‘Go’ means cow and Puram is for city. Another folklore that I heard from the guide is about the naming of the Hoysala dynasty. It seems that a Jain guru was teaching a physically strong disciple when he was suddenly attacked by a lion. The guru ordered the disciple to strike (‘Hoy’ in local language) and since the name of the disciple was ‘Sala’, the dynasty came to be called Hoysala.
This temple has wonderful engravings and some of which cannot even be seen with the naked eye. Artisans of the 11th and 12th century were amazing craftsmen and the work is awe-inspiring. Expressions on the faces of idols is such intricate work and is mystifying. Local vandalism has destroyed some pieces. The temple is called Chennakeshava where Chenna stands for good and Keshava for Lord Vishnu. The temple also has a pillar which rests only on its 3 edges. The temple also has 42 devadasi carvings in different poses.
Now, about the costs involved, KSTDC charges Rs 755 per person, lunch would cost Rs 80, Misc costs would be another 150 and the trip can be completed within Rs 1000.
Call 22275869 if you want to book.
Costs are a little on the higher side, but the comfort of a VOLVO bus and tourist guides in locations makes it worthwhile. Moreover, you need’nt be aware of the routes and would not get lost.
Overall, the trip was enjoyable and a welcome break for some of my friends. It was a different experience for me having visited all the waterfalls near Bangalore umpteen number of times and this was some change from the usual humdrum.
