BELUR
Belur (Beluhut or Velapura) is in the Hassan
district of the old Mysore State (now Kama taka). It was the capital city of
Ballala I and his younger brother Vishnuvardhana. In the epigraphs this city is
recorded as earthly Vaikuntha and Dakshina-Varanasi. The Chenna Kesava temple
at Belur is one of the most exquisite specimens of Hoysala art. It appears from
the inscription of the east wall near the entrance that king Vishnu-vardhana
constructed the temple and installed Vijaya-Narayana there in A.D. 1117. He did
this after his conversion to Vaishnavism from the Jaina faith by the celebrated
Ramanuja. Again, according to tradition he installed five Narayana images
(Pancha-Narayana-Pratishtha) at Belur, Talkad, Melkote, Tonnur and Gagag
(Gundlupet).
TEMPLE
WALL (OUTSIDE)
The temple wall from the
eastern doorway up to the north and the south entrances has a railed parapet
(Jagati) having beautiful friezes of elephants, a cornice with beadwork
surmounted by lion heads (Simha-lalatas) at intervals, and scroll work with
figures in every convolution. Another cornice is decorated with beadwork, and
small figures mostly of females. The projecting ornamental niches have
beautiful seated figures of Yakshas and Yakshinis. The eaves are decorated with
beadwork and thick creepers running along the edge of the upper slope having
miniature turrets, lions and many other small images. The rail also contains
figures; some are Maithuna figures (amorous couples) in panels and with
ornamental bands. But the elephant frieze is strangely enough left blank
throughout the temple. The rail to the right of the east entrance beautifully
illustrates episodes from the Mahabbarata.
Bhima is seen worshipping
Ganapati and Duryodhana falls unwillingly at the feet of Krishna who presses
his foot against the earth in order to tumble his throne. Further on the
creeper frieze different scenes from the Ramayana have been carefully
sculptured along with tiny seated musicians: Above the rail there are twenty
pierced stone windows (perforated screens) surmounted by the eaves, ten on the
right and ten on the left of the cast doorway, covering the whole temple. Ten
of them are decorated with Puranic scenes and the rest with geometrical
designs. Among them five on the right and five on the left of the east doorway
are especially noteworthy. On the top panel is Kesava in the centre flanked by
Chauri-bearers, Hanuman and Garuda. Just below this, King Vishnuvardhana, the
founder of this temple, holds a Darbar (royal court). He has a sword in his
right hand and a flower in the left. Mahadevi Shantaladevi, the chief queen is'
seen seated on his left, with her female attendant standing by her side. To his
right, a little in front, two religious teachers (Gurus) are seated with two
disciples behind them. One of them is apparently preaching something to the
king.
There are also several royal
officers and attendants at his beck and call. The king and queen have many
pieces of jewellery on their persons, especially unusually large earnings. Then
comes a tine scroll and below it a lion with a rider and another standing
vigorously facing the visitors, signifying the vigorous rule of Vishnuvardhana.
At the top of the next panel, Lakshmi-Narayana
are depicted along with their attendants. In the middle panel, Lord Krishna breaks
the pride of the serpent Kaliya (Kaliyadamana) and the lower one depicts a band
of musicians. The next screen re-presents Vishnu flanked by Garuda and Hanuman.
Below this panel, Shiva sits on his bull vehicle Nandi, attended by Garuda and
Kartikeya who in his turn is accompanied by a band of soldiers with flags,
swords, spears and shields. Next to this ten Dikpalakas, including Kubera, are
seen, and the rear panel represents a battle scene.
The next screen illustrates the
story of Prahlada. On the upper panel, Lakshmi-Narayana with Garuda and perhaps
Hanuman can be seen. On the middle panel, Narasimha kills Hiranykashipu
accompanied by Garuda and Hanuman. Just below it Prahlada with folded hands is
meditating on the deity in different poses; he has Tenkala-namam on his
forehead, which is the significant mark of the Vaishnava faith. The Vaishnava
faith and movement became more .active in the South and the perforated screens
were added by Ballala II (A.D. 1173-1220), the grandson of Vishnuvardhana.
We must now discuss the
sculptured beauty of the screens on the left of the eastern doorway. The first
screen is the same as the first on the right. Here, Narasimha I, the son of
Vishnuvardhana, is shown seated in the centre, with his chief queen on his
left. He is in his Durbar (court) and holds a sword in his right hand and a
flower in the left. On their left are three officers with folded hands along
with a group of royal attendants. At the bottom, two lions can be seen. In the
top panel Narasimha is in meditation along with Chauri-bearers, Garuda and Hanuman.
The fourth screen is rather
interesting; here is the seated figure of Vishnu; the next panel illustrates
the story of the Churning of the Milk Ocean (Samudramanthana). Again, on the
seventh screen, Vishnu is flanked by Garuda and Hanuman. The next panel depicts
the killing of Kamsa by Krishna; and on the next are seen his killing of the
elephant-demon Kuvalayapeda and his contest with the wrestler, Chanura. Again
on the next screen, Lord Krishna is playing on his flute and the cows and wild
beasts, seem enchanted by the magic of his music. The ninth and the tenth screens
are rather interesting; Ranganatha is seen reclining on the beautifully carved
serpent. And' on the last Lakshmi-Narayana is flanked by Chauri-bearers. In the
next screen Hanuman fights with Garuda for the possession of a Linga-like
object. Both of them have placed their hands on it. It is finally split up into
two halves by the discus (Chakra)of Vishnu seated above. In the midst of the
fighting, Hanuman wears the crown of Garuda and vice versa.
The pillars at the side of
every screen have on their capitals mostly standing female figures supporting
the eaves. They are the masterpieces of Hoysala art. Once there were forty of
them around and inside the temple; two or three are now missing. 'Ili Kannada
they are known as Madanikas. Most of the bracket figures are shown either
lancing or playing on musical instruments or dressing themselves. Two of them represent
Durga and three are huntresses, one carrying a bow and the other shooting birds
with arrows. Some of them are seen with breeches. It is interesting to note hat
on the pedestals of eighteen bracket figures the names of the artists are
inscribed :carefully. These Madanikas are again represented in miniature form
in the sixth frieze of the railed parapet.
Beyond the railed parapet
(Jagati) there are eighty large images of gods and goddesses of which only
nineteen are female. They are in a continuous row as Halebid, Kedareshvara and
Somnathpur. Among the gods and goddesses are thirty-two images of Vishnu, two
of Lakshmi-Narayana, one of Vamana, two of Narasimha, two of Varaha, one each
of Ranganatha, Balarama, and Hara-Parvati tree of Shiva as the destroyer of
Andhakasura and Gajasura, two of Hari-Hara, four of Surya, five of Durga and
Mahisasuramardini, two of Bhairava, one of Man-matha and Rati, one each of
Ganesha, Brahma, 'Sarasvati, Garuda and Chandra .. .sides these, there are
images of Ravana, Daksha, Arjuna, Bali, and Shukracharya. The large images of
Narasimha on the south-west wall and of Ranganatha on the north-east one add to
the beauty of the temple. The artists, however, did not ignore e basic concept
of life; some small erotic sculptures, can be seen on the outer wall d they do
not mar the beauty of the temple. Moreover, on the third, fifth, and :th
friezes of the railed parapet there are many Hindu divinities.
Special attention must be drawn
to some interesting sculptures, for instance, Balarama with a discus (Chakra)
in his left hand and a plough in the right; Chandra holding Kumudas
(water-lilies) in both hands; a sixteen-armed Narasimha slaying Hiranyakashipu;
Kayadhu (Prahlad's mother) and Garuda are artistic and story-telling. Then
there is a Madanika (Kirati) as a huntress to the left of the north doorway
with two small female attendants, one with a bamboo lathi (rod) carrying a dead
deer and a crane apparently shot in the chase. Another small figure is trying
to remove a thorn with the help of a needle from the leg of one of the female
attendants. This is almost a lyrical ballad in stone. Another Madanika in an
amorous mood holds a betel leaf apparently for her lover, while her playful
attendant squirts scented water with a syringe. Other Madanika to the left of
the south entrance is dancing under a creeper canopy. The sculptor has a poetic
vision; on the top near her head are a lizard, a Ely, and a ripe fruit (may be
a jack-fruit); the lizard is preparing to pounce on the fly.
At the sides, in front of all
the three entrances, there are two fine pavilions with two more opposite to
them at some distance and on a lower level. Vishnu, Bhairava, and
Mahisasuramardini are on the upper level; and they have a frieze of elephants.
There are likewise three more pavilions on a lower level opposite to the three
car-like niches around the Garbha-griha. They have elephant, lion and horse
friezes on the base and all the nine lower pavilions have both religious and
secular figures. Here, it is important to note that each doorway has at the
sides the Hoysala crest-Sala, the founder of the family, with a sword in hand
ready to kill a lion (or tiger).
NAVARANGA
(CENTRAL HALL)
The Navaranga has raised
verandahs on both sides of the three entrances. All the pillars are
artistically executed and are different from one another in design and the
arrangement enhances the beauty of the Navaranga. Sufficient space has been
left out in the central hall (Navaranga) for musical performances and Puja
(worship) ceremonies by large numbers of devotees and others. The well-known
Narsimha pillars are carved out with minute figures all round from the top to
the bottom. A tiny bull (Kadali-basava) is in the size of a seed of the Bengal
gram (Kadal). A small space on the south face of the pillar is said to have
been left blank by the artist who prepared the pillar as a challenge to any
artist who can appropriately fill it up. Another pillar, right of the Sukhanasi
doorway, has the same marvelous filigree work. It is carved with a female
figure in front and has eight vertical bands with fine scroll work the
convolutions of which are made up of delicately executed figures representing
the Hindu minor gods of the eight directions and others. Besides, the lions
with faces of other animals add further to the beauty of the pillar; it is
certainly one of the most beautiful pillars in the whole temple.
The four central pillars support
a large domed ceiling of about 3.05 meters (ten feet) in diameter, 1.83 meters
(six feet) deep. It is a remarkable piece of artistic workmanship famous for
the richness of ornamentation and elaboration of details. Brahma, Vishnu and
Mahesvara are shown on a lotus bud and the bottom frieze of Madanikas, standing
on the capitals of the four central pillars, add much to the grace and charm of
the Navaranga. Three of them are signed by the sculptors. The Tribhanga (triple
bends) pose is really fascinating and a lovely parrot playfully sitting on the
hand. The sculptor is so very skilful that the bracelets moved up and down.
Another Madanika in a dancing pose on the south-east pillar represents
"Dancing Sarasvati". Just to express the ingenuity of the artist,
here head-ornaments can be moved. The third figure on the north-cast pillar is
far more life-like. She has just finished her bath and is carefully dressing
her hair by squeezing out the water from her hair. The last figure on the
north-west pillar is simply dancing before the deity, expressing an exquisite
dramatic pose in stone. Here, the artists have bestowed far greater attention
and care than on the other Madanika. There is no denying the fact that most
magnificent specimens of Hoysala sculpture are the Madanikas. For the sheer
beauty of form, delicacy of worksmanship and perfection of finish, they are
without parallel and may be called "poetry in stone." They have
elicited un-qualified approbation from the art-critics of the world and to the
temple, they have added great grace and charm.
Each one of Madanika figures
here may be taken as a representative illustration of the rhythm and grace of
which an ideal female form is capable. The workmanlike finish given to every
one of them and the remarkable delicacy and skill with which details of
decoration and ornamentation have been executed, have placed on them an
exceptionally high value as pure works of creative art. Moreover, "the
beauty and mirror" is another popular figure of Belur. A dancing girl, on
completing her toilet, looks in the mirror with an air of supreme satisfaction
and fully conscious of her own beauty. She is profusely ornamented. Her broad
forehead, aquiline noze, well-formed lips suggesting a smile, large and almond
shaped eyes with bow-like eyebrows and thick locks of hair tied into a large
knot behind her head, represent the perfection of feminine charm. The slender
waist and round breasts conform to the Indian ideal of feminine beauty.
The graceful curves of the
tribhanga (triple bends) figure add rhythm to her pose. Another favorite theme
of the artist is represented in the two Madanikas with their favorite parrot in
hand; one is teaching her bird and the other is gracefully looking at hers.
They too stand in Tribhangapose displaying the full charm of their well-formed
limbs. Another figure depicts a monkey pulling at the dress of the modest lady.
In her right hand she holds a small branch of a tree with wheel to strike her mischievous
pet. A maiden arranging her coiffure, another with a lyre (Veena), another
singing or beating a tune on a drum, others depicting well-known poses of the
classical dance, another a huntress (Kirati) are the objects that caught the
imagination of Hoysala artist into a matchless performance of technical skill.
The secular nature of the subject matter gave them freedom of action; it
enabled them to modify and even over-look the rigid rules of religious
convention.
The Hoysala artists, like the
ancient Greek sculptors, took poetic delight in depicting the female form; and
they conceived beauty as an attribute of divinity and employed their skill to
embellish temples. And to them any pretext was sufficient to display their
skill. They displayed a keen sense of realism regarding the human form
especially the female.
The remaining ceiling in the
Navaranga is mostly flat and oblong in shape. In the front of the entrance,
Ashta-Dikpalakas (guardians of the eight directions) are carved out on three
panels; and on the east Narashimha is shown killing Hiranyakashipu. The figure
of Varaha and Keshava are on the southern and northern entrances respectively.
But the ceilings over the verandah show better workmanship of carving; the west
verandah at the south entrance has a frieze depicting stories from the
Ramayana. Moreover, one magnificent Gopuram and an elegant standing Garuda were
subsequently added to enhance the beauty of the temple.
TECHNICAL
EXPERTS (ARTISTS AND TECHNICIANS)
It may well be presumed that
during the construction period each temple was left under the fostering care of
one master artist-cum-technician who would dictate and guide each and every
part of construction and decoration. It was, of course, assisted by a good
number of able artists to complete the work. It may be that different sections
of the temple were left to the care of a different artist; and thus, they were
able to complete them in a specified period of time. This view was rather
cofirmed when I visited the temples of Belur, Halebid, Kedareshvara,
Somnathpur, and others. Here I should like to refer to a legend current in
Karnataka; it is about the great Jakana-chari and his son Dakanachari.
Jakanachari being suspicious about the fidelity of his wife, secretly left his
home and took service under the Hoysala ruler, Vishnuvardhana.
He was engaged to construct the
Chenna Keshava temple at Belur. After its completion, when the king was about
to install the Mula-Vigraha (main deity), a youth of eighteen years protested
against the proposed installation. He argued that the Mula-Vigraha was unfit to
be installed, since it was a Garbha-shila, i .e., it contained something within
it. To prove his point he was allowed to break the image. To everybody's
surprise, a living frog and a little quantity of sand and water were found
within the image. Thus according to the Shilpa-Shastra the deity could not be
installed. That youth was no other than the son of Jakanachari whose son was
known as Dakanachari. He was much pleased to see his son well-versed in the Shilpa-Shastra
and other religious texts and they both constructed many temples in Karnataka.
Many other well-trained sculptors also assisted them in their work.
On the pedestals of the
eighteen Madanikas on the outer-walls of the temple and the three inside the
Navaranga and Vishnu on the west wall, the names of the sculptors are
inscribed. I have seen many such in the Halebid, Somnathpur and Kedareshvar
temples. Among the sculptors of the Keshava temple at Belur mention may be made
of Dasoja, his son Chavana, Chikka Hampa, Malliyana, Padari Malloja, Kencha
Malliyanna, Masada and Nagoja. Some of the lebels give details about their
native places, parentage and qualifications.
Balligrame (Belgame) in the
Shikarpur Taluk of the Shimoga district was the native place of Dasoja and his
son Chavana. Dasoja had the title of "smiter of the crowd of titled
sculptors" and his son was a "Shiva to the cupid titled
sculptors". Again, Chavana is said to have "done his work at the
instance of Keshavadeva". Chikka Hampa was the royal artist of
Tribhuvanamalla-Deva and had "prepares some images in the Mandapa (hall)
of Vijaya - Narayana built by Vishnuvardhana." He was the son of Ineja and
had the title of" Champion over rivaj sculptors." Milliyana was the
artist of Maha-Mandaleshvara Tribhuvanamalla and had the title of "a tiger
among sculptors." Again, Padari Malloja had earned the title of "a
pair of large scissors to the necks of titled sculptors." Moreover, Magoja
is claimed to be the artist of god Shvayabhu-Trikuteshvara of Gadugu (Gadag):
one of them had claimed to be the "Vishvakarma of the Kali age." The
names of the sculptors on their artistic creation are a significant departure
from medieval and early modern tradition of India, and the inscribed names have
given us an important clue to the artists of more remote periods. 
HALEBID
The Halebid village is
(eighteen miles) from Banavar railway station, about 16 kilo-meters (ten miles)
north-east of Belur. It has a direct bus service from Hasan via Belur. In the
ninth century the Rashtrakuta rulers constructed a large lake, called
Dorasamudra, but in the twelveth century the Hoysalas made it their capital
city. Over a century and half they had a large kingdom south of the Krishna
river. In A.D. 1311, Malik Kafur ransacked the city and took "camel-loads
of gold, silver and precious stones" It was pillaged again in A.D. 1326 by
Muhammad-bin-Tughluq. But in its heyday, Dora-samudra was a great city
extending to the south and west of the present village of Halebid.
Round about A.D. 1121
Ketamalla, an officer of Vishnuvardhana, undertook this great work of building
the temple in the name of the king and the queen; and the whole structure was
completed sometime after A.D. 1141. The temple contains two different sanctums,
each with a vestibule. The Navaranga (Central hall) and bull Manda-pa (hall)
and in fact two complete temples are joined by short corridors, both standing
on a common plinth. As at Belur, the sanctum is star-shaped. The Linga in the
south shrine bears the name Vishnuvardhana Hoysaleshvara (or Hoysaleshvara) and
the one in the north has the name of Shantaleshvara'1° two Nandi Mandapas with
two gigantic bulls are on the east. In the later period pierced stone (jali)
windows and doors were attached to the temple.
FRIEZES
Among the temples of the Chalukyan style, none
can compare in magnitude, exuberance of carving, and artistic majesty with the
Halebid temple. On its outer walls thousands of figures are sculptured which
gave the artists enough scope for imagination. The temple itself is 48.77 meters
(160 feet) north and south by 37 meters (122 feet) cast and west. From the
basement of the platform the temple is elaborately decorated by horizontal
friezes. The first one represents a march of war elephants, and then between
the two bands of scrollwork is a row of charging horsemen, which is again
followed by episodes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata, and the
Puranas. Just above them are mythical crocodiles (Makaras) with long ornamental
tails, tusks, riders, and a beautiful row of swans (or peacocks).
ROOFS
AND TOWERS
On the eastern side, just under
the eaves, there were many bracket figures on the pillars; most of them have
now disappeared from there. Consequently, the structural beauty of the temple
has suffered considerably. There is a great deal of controversy among
art-critics regarding spires over the temple. James Fergusson states, "it
was intended to raise two great pyramidal spires over the sanctuaries, four
lower ones in front of these, and two more, as roofs-one over each of the two
central pavilions.”
NANDI
– MANDAPA
On the east of the each Linga as mentioned
above, there are two multi-pillared pavilions, side by side with two colossal
bulls which are really majestic in appearance and beautiful in composition. The
bull in the south pavilion is largest and behind it in a small shrine there is
a beautiful standing figure of Surya (Sun-god) with his consorts shooting
arrows, and his car drawn by seven horses. The Nandi-Mandapa is further graced
by beautiful images of Lakshmi-Narayana and a female drummer.
WALL
IMAGES
The upper part of the walls have
perforated stone windows on the east side with the images of gods, goddesses,
and Epic and Puranic heroes on the west wall. Most of them are about 0.91
metres (three feet) height, standing or sitting on a pedestal with ornamental
canopies (or arches). They are usually in high relief and thus a great
multitude of Hindu gods and goddesses in different poses and thus have given a
deeper significance to iconographic studies. The majestic figure of Shiva as “Dvarapala
(door-Keeper), Vishnu, Shakti and other deities of the Hindu pantheon arc well
represented. Thus, the outer wall of the Halebid temple may be rightly called a
museum of the Hindu gods and goddesses.
MYTHOLOGICAL
FRIEZES
There are five important images
on the north-east wall. It begings with the figure of king Vishnuvardhana or
his officer Kitamalla sitting in his Durbar (Court). In the next panel the gods
and the demons churn the milky ocean for nectar with Vasuki (great mythical
serpent) as the rope, the mount Mandara as the rod supported on the back of
Vishnu as tortoise. Unfortunately, many of the figures are mutilated. One after
another we have the images of Sukracharya with a pot of liquor (Toddy) the
Durbar of Hara and Parvati attended by gods, Joshada and Krishna, Lakshmi-Narayana,
the Ganas and Dikpalas, and king Bali offering the world as a gift to Vishnu
(Vamana), and Chandesh-vara-Shiva. But the east wall is blessed with eleven
images; they are Shiva in his court (Durbar), a fight between Krishna and Indra
for the Parijata tree, Shiva and Vishnu standing close together, and Krishna in
his boyhood.
The south-eastern door is
gracefully decorated by six images. Shiva is on the lintel of the doorway and
the arches are fine examples of stone filigree work; the door-keepers are
heavily be-jewelled. Major battles of the Mahabharata war are carefully
depicted and the eighteen days of the conflict can also be identified. Each
warrior hero is shown fighting from his chariot driven by a charioteer. One
panel in the south-cast presents the appointment of aged Bhisma as the
Commander-in-Chief of the Kauravas. And Arjuna's victory over Drona is
celebrated by the soldiers, dancers, and musicians.
On the lintel of the south
door, Shiva is dancing on the body of Andhakasura; his eight hands are more or
less engaged and his beautiful face is beaming with a benign smile after his
victory over the demon. But the fallen demon still looks at him and Nandi. The
dancing god is also accompanied by musicians and drummers and above his head
there is a five-hooded snake with a towering canopy. Brahma and Vishnu are on
his right and left. The arches above are carefully decorated and are supported
on each side by a mythic al Makara with a warrior in its mouth. Varuna (the
Indian Neptune) and his consort are on the Makara's back and are followed by
their attendants. At each end a lion is fighting with an elephant or with Sala,
the progenitor of the Hoysala family. Just above this a group of heavenly
musicians and the guardians of the quarters are assembled. Thus, the whole
complexity of the panels enhances the grace and charm of the south door.
The south-west wall is further
graced by seven images. They are seen dancing Ganesa, Brahma, Karna with his
chariot and standard, Hara-Parvati sitting gracefully terrible Bhairava,
Mohini's nude dance with Bhasmasura, Arjuna shooting an arrow at the eye of a
fish, cowboy Krishna playing on his flute, dancing Sarasvati,
Parijata-Sarasvati, Indra and Indrani on their elephant, Krishna lifting the
Govardhana hill, terrible Bairava, Shiva as the slayer of Gajasura (elephant
demon), Karttikeya (the god of war), Varaha (Vishnu) as the savior of the Earth
goddess, Uma's marriage with Shiva, Durga fighting Mahisasura and Darpana
Sundari.
The west wall is further
decorated by fifteen images from the Mababharata, Rama-yana and the Puranas.
There are the stories of Prahalad, Narashimha, Manmatha and Rati, Brahma,
battle between Rama and Ravana, vengeance of Draupadi, Vishnu as Trivikrama,
Gajendra Moksha, Parijat-harana, Keshava standing before dancing Lakshmi, Nritya-Sarasvati,
Shiva-Nataraja, Kali, Shiva's war with Arjuna, Rama and the Vali-Sugriva story,
his quest for Sita, and Shakti. Again, the north-west wall is graced by four
Brahmanical images Mohini with a parrot, the killing of Abhimanyu, dancing
Ganesha and the Earth goddess (Bhudevi) and Vasudeva, a dancer, one Gandharva
(heavenly Musician) and a Kaunchuki (eunuch door-keeper of the heavenly harem).
Moreover, the northern wall is similarly decorated with Epic and Puranic images,
such as, Varaha Avatara of Vishnu, Gandharvas, Ravana lifting Mount Kailasa,
Mahisasuramardini, Durga, a Huntress, Gandharva-Kanya and many others.
NAVARANGA
HALLS
SANCTUMS
The doors of the sanctums and the vestibules
arc of different designs and each door has its own beauty; the door-keepers,
Shiva as Dvarapala, and a chauri-bearer and attend-ants are far more beautiful.
In each sanctum there is a huge pedestal and a large flat-headed Linga placed
by the royal builder and his queen for their religious merit. Although they
were devotees of Vishnu and disciples of Ramanujacharya, they dedicated this
great temple to Lord Shiva.
OTHER
OBJECTS OF INTEREST
In the southern compound of the
temple and near the royal gateway there is a colossal stone image of Ganesha,
and in the north-west corner over a Linga there was formerly a small temple
which is now totally destroyed. Between the main temple and the Linga is a round
pillar with a Kannada inscription recording a tragic story of Hoysal a chivalry.
In olden times, when a Hindu King was crowned, the princes and his body guards
(Garudas) took a terrible oath that they would not live after their royal
master. Thus, when Ballala H died, his bodyguards, headed by prince Lakshmana,
kept their vows and slew themselves. A relief sculpture on the pillar shows
Lakshinana seated like a Yogi waiting to be beheaded, when his followers turned
their daggers and swords upon themselves. Our study of Halebid temple would not
be complete if we do not mention here the words of James Fergusson about the
mythological friezes. "This frieze, which is about 5 to 6 inches in
height, is continued all around the westren front of the building and castends
to some 400 feet in length. Shiva with his consort Parvati seated on his knee,
is repeated at least fourteen times; Vishnu in his various Avataras even
oftener, Brahma occurs several times and every great god of Hindu pantheon
finds his place. Some of these are carved with a minute elaboration of details
which can only be reproduced by photography, and may probably be considered as
one of the most marvellous exhibitions of human labour to be found even in the
patient East....
If the frieze of gods were spread
along a plain surface it would lose more than half its effect, while the
vertical angles, without interfering with the continuity of the frieze, give
height and strength to the whole composition. The disposition of the horizontal
lines of the lower friezes is equally effective. Here again the artistic
combination of horizontal with vertical line and the play of outline and of
light and shade for surpass anything in Gothic art. The effect are just what
the medieval architects were often aiming at, but which they never attained so
perfectly as was done in Halebid.” Again, "No two canopies in the whole
building are alike, and every part exhibits a joyous exuberance of fancy
scorninge very mechanical restraint. All this is wild in human faith or warm in
human feeling is found portrayed on these walls!" Here, again, we have the
names of some of the sculptors, such as Demoja, Kalidasi, Kedaroja and
Talagundura Hari. Unlike Somnathpur, this is a dead temple, for the daily
worship of the deity is not held here. The temple is now looked after by the
Archaeological Survey of India. In the compound of the temple there is an
excellent and a very good library, museum containing some good examples of
Halebid sculpture both of which are quite helpful to scholars; and the Curator
and the Care-taker have done a lot for me.
SOMNATHPUR
Somnathpur is a small village
in the Tarumakudalu Narasipur Taluk of the Karnataka district and is situated
about 0.8 kilometre (half a mile) from the Kaveri river. It is about 32
kilometres (twenty miles) from Sirangapatnam. According to epigraphical
records, Somnath (Soma), an officer under Narasimha III (A.D. 1254-1291), built
the Kesava temple in A.D. 1268. The temple is situated in a courtyard measuring
65.53 by 53.95 metres (215 by 177 feet) the main structure is placed on a metre
(three feet) high stone platform. It is a three-celled structure
(Trikutachala), the main cell facing the cast and the other two facing the
north and south; they are surmounted by three elegantly carved towers which are
identical in design and execution.
OUTER
WALL
On both sides of the entrance,
there runs around the front hall a railed parapet (Jagati) and from the bottom
upwards horizontal friezes of elephants, horsemen, scroll - work scenes from
the Epics and the Puranas, turretted pillars, miniature erotic sculpture, and
lions intervening between them, and a rail divided into panels by double columns
with tiny figures, have enhanced the beauty of the temple. Above them are
perforated stone windows (Jali); they are also beautifully decorated with
filigree work and images. From the corners on both sides of the entrance, where
the rail parapet ends, there begins a row of large images with different types
of ornamental canopies. Just below these images there are six horizontal
friezes the first four are identical with the railed parapet design but the
fifth and sixth have a frieze of mythical beasts (Makaras) surmounted by' a row
of swans (or peacocks). 
We can easily sum up the number
of large images on the walls as one hundred and ninety-four. There are
fifty-four in the south cell; in the corner between the west and north cells
there are only fourteen figures, and there are fifty-four images round the
north cell. The Brahmanical deities represented by the above images are Vishnu
and his different incarnations (i.e., Narasimha, Varaha, Hayagriva, Venugopal
and Parasurama), Brahma, Shiva, Ganapati, Indra-Indrani, Hara-Parvati,
Manmatha, Surya, Garuda, Shakti, Mahishasura-mardini, Karttikeya, Lakshmi,
Sarasvati and a Gandharva. Moreover, apart from the friezes of the Epics and
the Puranas the portions running round the south cell presents scenes from the
Ramayana; the west cell has scenes from the Bhagavata-Purana and the north has
representatives Mahabharata stories.
INTERNAL
ARRANGEMENT
The chief cell of the
Garbha-griha doorway depicts a seated figure of Vishnu at the top, an image of
Lakshmi-Narayana in the centre and the ten incarnations of Vishnu at the
bottom. As the base there is a tiny elephant over the Sukhanasi doorway,
Paravasudeva and Keshava are also seen, apparently Vishnu as a Dvarapala
(door-keeper) is on the jambs of both the doorways.
The Navaranga (central hall)
has six ceiling panels and the Mukha-mandapa (front hall) has nine. All of them
are 0.91 meter (three feet) deep and are artistically executed with the
plantain flower (Kadali-Pushpa) design; and formerly difficult colors were
painted on them. Four bell-shaped pillars support the Navaraga and fourteen of
them hold the Mukha-mandapa; they are all artistically-designed.
Like many other Hoysala
temples, some names of the scupltors are engraved on the pedestals of different
images. They are Mallitamma (Malli), Baleya, Chaudeya, Bamaya, Masanitamma,
Bharmaya, Nanjaya and Yalamasay. Thus, the sculptor Mallitamma played a very significant
role in the decoration of the Keshave temple at Somnathpur. Most probably he
was the artist mainly responsible for the magnificent work to be seen there. In
A.D. 1249, he also worked in the Lakshmi-Narasinha temple at Nuggihalli in the
Channarayapatna Taluk of Hassan district, and we necessarily must attach great
historical value to three temples for their unique contribution to Indian
plastic art. In this connection, we should discuss the role of the legendary
sculptor, Jakanachari, who is believed to have constructed many temples of the
Hoysalas. But no such name has been found in any temple of Karnataka. It may be
a corruption of the Sanskrit word Dashinacharya, that is, a sculptor of the
South school" and perhaps does not denote any particular artist. There is
another possibility that he was the chief architect and sculptor of many
Hoysala temples; and unlike an ordinary artist he did not like to inscribe his
name on them.
There are many temples and
Jain-bastis which were embellished with same amount of skill. Among them
Lakshmidevi, Kappe-Channigarah, Kirtinarayana, Trimurti, Kedareshvara,
Harihara, Someshvara, and many others, are of great artistic value and they
were built during the heyday of the Hoysalas. “Whether we look at these temples
as disinterested historians or art critics or engineers interested in the
details of their structure and beauty, one fundamental truth stands out for all
time, that from faith springs devotion and from devotion the virtues of courage,
patience, sacrifice and intelligence. For otherwise it is hard to explain the
enormous amount of labour and skill that hosts of masons and sculptors poured
for centuries into the construction of these exquisite temples. To modern
generations, they have become a legend. But still many devotees of Hindu
culture who seek inspiration and enlightenment from a knowledge of the past
will not be disappointed by a pilgrimage to these centre’s of ancient art of
Mysore.”
Writer - S.K. MAITY
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