Information of Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebid, Hassan, Karnataka

Hoysaleswara Temple or the Dwarasamudra is a magnificent architectural structure located in Halebidu Town of Hassan District of Karnataka-State in South-India. This is a marvelous Hindu temple which was built by the great king named the Vishnuvardhana, who belongs to Hoslya Dynasty in the 12th century AD. This temple is the masterpiece work of the Hoysala architecture. He dedicates this temple to Lord Shiva. In the 14th century, this temple was looted by the Islamic rulers from the North India. Presently this is a protected monument by the archeological survey of India and a world heritage site listed under the UNESCO. This is not a temple but an architectural wonder. Kindly note that there are no Archanas happening here since it's under the Archeological departments care under the monument act of India. One can self pray from inside this temple and is allowed to touch the idols. If any auspicious days are celebrated, than these ceremonies are conducted from outside areas or the plinth areas of this temple.

Hoysaleswara Temple Religious Significance

Lord Shiva is worshiped here mainly. But this temple has the idols of Parvathi Devi and her Son Lord Ganesha. Here the Ganesha idol is found in the Nrithya Rupe (Dancing style).

Festival at Hoysaleswara Temple

The Shivarathri is the main festival and many devotees gather here to celebrate this special day of Lord Shiva.

Hoysaleswara Temple Mythology & History

In the 12th century AD, the Vaishnaviks sects residing in this region were building the Chanekesava Temple. This was looking very beautiful temple of this area. The Shivicks were jealous of it and went to their King Vishnuvardhana and took permission to build a splendid temple for Lord Shiva here. The Hoysala King also granted money and this temple was dedicated to his wife Shantaladevi. After the completion of this temple, it became an important landmark for Hasan. Finally the Shiviks ruled out the game by building an unparalleled architectural structure.

Hoysaleswara Temple Architectural Significance

It took nearly 2 centuries to complete this temple task and there were thousands of skilled artisans worked here. It is a splendid work of Hoysala architecture and can't be compared with any temple structure in the world. This is a unique temple in India with lot of specialty making it different from the Hindu style of temple. This is an irregular circled shape on two temples built here for the King and Queen of the Hoysala Dynasty. This is a single storied structure with stone roofs. These stone roofs are supported with huge carved pillars. The outer and the inner complexes are filled with many skilled art works on stones. The main structure has granite grilled windows. This temple structure is built of sand stones and granite stones. There are stone art works carved here in a bar manner. Each stone bar is dedicated to particular style of mythology in its designs. These bar gaps are filed with beautiful motifs. These are especially of floral designs. Each full length stone bars have a special stone art depiction of the Hindu mythological event like the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Maha Shiva stories depicted in the stone art forms. There are also animal carvings found in the bottom side with elephants, horses and tigers to show the strength, powers and courage of building this temple structure. The middle part of this structure is found with full of Frieze's, each having big sculptors of male and female Hindu sub deities. There are such 1000 of friezes found here. The inner complex has the beautiful idol of Lord Ganesha, Shiva and Parvathi. These are 2 Bulls carved here on monolith stones. These are well polished in such a way that it looks more beautiful than a natural bull. These bulls are 8-9 feet in height. Another uniqueness of this temple's is its pillars. These are carved with many sculptors and are very beautiful to look. All together this temple has more than 1 Lakhs stone sculptors in big and small size. Altogether this temple is a treat to our eyes. One can't go just ignoring to see these stone arts. Since each and every inch has very minute details on it in carving works. This is a very rear Shiva Temple to see in the Indian sub continent. This is a heritage site and a protected monument now.