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Saturday, February 2, 2013

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 

15 comments:

  1. Good photos. But somehow the last photo attracted me more.

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  2. खूबसूरत मन्दिर

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  3. Your photos are superb, as always and I love the detail that you capture. They are all made even better with the history that you include. Terrific post! And, it's good to see you online again! Thank you, as always, for your visit to my blog and your kind comment. Hope your weekend is going well!

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  4. Great series of shots!
    I haven't been here.

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  5. Great details. Is this the only dome structure of a Hoysala temple? I do not recollect seeing any .

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  6. The dome of the temple is striking and what fine architecture! It is also nice to see the temple surrounded by a blanket of green. Beautiful post as always, many thanks for the virtual tour.

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  7. This is a very magnificent, impressive, temple complex. The ornamentation is absolutely beautiful. I'm very impressed with the rock dome.

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  8. Lovely.. wasnt aware of these temples, shd visit next time i am around there

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  9. These are some really beautiful photographs. Are you a professional photographer? I work for a travel website, and some of these photos could easily have qualified to be there. Quite impressive.

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  10. What a craftmanship.. Covered well by your post..

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