The Amruteshvara temple also spelt "Amrutesvara" or "Amruteshwara", is located in the village of Amruthapura, 67 km north of
Chikmagalur
Chikmagalur, known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists from ...
town in the
Chikkamagaluru district
Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru is an administrative district in the Malnad subregion of Karnataka, India. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The hills of Chikmagalur are parts of the Western Ghauts and the source of ...
of the
Karnataka state
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Located 110 km from
Hassan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to:
People
*Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name
*Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...
and 50 km from
Shimoga
Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of ...
on NH 206, Amruthapura is known for the Amruteshvara temple . The temple was built in 1196 C.E. by Amrutheshwara ''Dandanayaka'' (''lit'', "commander") under
Hoysala
The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...
King
Veera Ballala II
Veera Ballala II ( kn, ವೀರ ಬಲ್ಲಾಳ 2) (r. 1173–1220 CE) was the most notable monarch of the Hoysala Empire. His successes against the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Southern Kalachuris, the Pandyas of Madurai and the wani ...
.
Amrutesvara temple
![Profile of Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura in Chikkamagaluru district](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Profile_of_Amrutesvara_temple_at_Amruthapura_in_Chikkamagaluru_district.JPG)
The temple is a built according to
Hoysala architecture
Hoysala architecture is the building style in Hindu temple architecture developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire between the 11th and 14th centuries, in the region known today as Karnataka, a state of India. Hoysala influence was at its ...
with a wide open ''mantapa'' (hall).
[Foekema (1996), p37] The temple has an original outer wall with unique equally spaced circular carvings. The temple has one ''
vimana
Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentio ...
'' (shrine and tower) and therefore is a ''ekakuta'' design,
[Quote:"Depending on the number of towers, temples are classified as ''ekakuta'' (one), ''dvikuta'' (two), ''trikuta'' (three), ''chatushkuta'' (four) and ''panchakuta'' (five). The last two types are rare. Sometimes a ''trikuta'' temple is literally not ''trikuta'' as only the central of three shrines may have a superstructure", Foekema (1996), p25] and has a closed ''mantapa'' (hall) that connects the sanctum to the large open ''
mantapa
A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture.
Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...
''.
It is medium-sized Hoysala temple with certain vastu features similar to the
Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi
The Veera Narayana temple, also referred to as the Viranarayana temple of Belavadi, is a triple Hindu temple with a complex Hoysala architecture completed around 1200 CE. Close to Halebidu, this is a better preserved large Hoysala monument found ...
in ''mantapa'' structure and size. The open ''mantapa'' has twenty nine bays,
[Quote:"A bay is a square or rectangular compartment in the hall", Foekema (1996) p36, p93] and the closed ''mantapa'' has nine bays with a side porch that leads to a separate shrine on the south side. The shrine is square in shape has the original superstructure (''
shikhara
''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...
'') which is adorned with sculptures of ''
Kirtimukha
Kirtimukha (Sanskrit: कीर्तिमुख ,', also ', a bahuvrihi compound translating to "glorious face") is the name of a swallowing fierce monster face with huge fangs, and gaping mouth, very common in the iconography of Hindu temple arc ...
s'' (demon faces), miniature decorative towers (
aedicule
In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ...
). Below the superstructure, the usually seen panel of
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
deities is absent. The base of the wall has five mouldings which according to art critic Foekema is an "older Hoysala style".
[Quote:"In a typical "older style" that was popular throughout most of the 12th century Hoysala temples, there is one set of ]eaves
The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...
where the tower meets the wall of the shrine. The eaves runs all around the temple. Eaves is a projecting roof overhanging the temple wall. Below the eaves are decorated miniature towers on pilasters. Below these towers are the wall panels of Hindu Gods, Goddesses and their attendants. Below these panels are the five mouldings", Foekema (1996), p28 The ''
sukanasi'', the tower on top of the
vestibule that connects the sanctum to the closed ''mantapa'' (the ''Sukanasi'' appears like the nose of the superstructure),
[Foekema(1996), p22] has the original Hoysala emblem of "Sala" fighting the lion.
[Foekema (1996), p22][According to Kamath, Sala fights a tiger. According to historians such as C. Hayavadhana Rao, J. D. M. Derrett and B. R Joshi, "Sala" was the mythical founder of the empire, Kamath (2001), p123]
The rows of shining lathe turned pillars that support the ceiling of the ''mantapa'' is a Hoysala-Chalukya decorative idiom.
[Quote:"a common feature of Western Chalukya-Hoysala temples", Kamath (2001), p117] The ''mantapa'' has many deeply domed inner ceiling structures adorned with floral designs. The outer parapet wall of the open ''mantapa'' has a total of hundred and forty panel sculptures with depictions from the Hindu epics. Unlike many Hoysala temples where the panels are small and carvings in miniature, these panels are comparatively larger. The
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
is sculpted on the south side wall on seventy panels, with the story proceeding quite unusually, in anti-clockwise direction. On the north side wall, all depictions are clockwise, a norm in Hoysala architectural articulation. Twenty five panels depict the life of the Hindu god
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
and the remaining forty five panels depict scenes from the epic
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
.
Ruvari Mallitamma, the well known sculptor and architect is known to have started his career here working on the domed ceilings in the main ''mantapa''.
[''Architectural marvel'' by P.B.Premkumar, ''Spectrum'', Tuesday, 20 January 2004 ]
The large stone inscription near the porch contains poems composed by medieval Kannada poet
Janna
Janna (Kannada : ಮಹಾಕವಿ ಜನ್ನ) was one of the well-known Kannada poets of the early 13th century who also served in the capacity of a minister and a builder of temples. He graced the court of Hoysala empire King Veera Ba ...
who had the honorific ''Kavichakravarti'' (''lit'', "emperor among poets").
Gallery
File:Profile of shrine in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG, Profile of shrine outer wall with ''Shikara'' (tower) at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Mantapa outer wall articulation in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG, Close up of mantapa wall with miniature decorative towers, swirls and flourish in relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Shrine wall relief at Amruteshvara temple in Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district.JPG, Mantapa wall with miniature decorative towers (aedicule
In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ...
) in relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Outer wall relief at Amruteshvara temple in Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district.JPG, Wall relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Wall decoration in relief in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG, Wall relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Close up of outer wall relief at Amruteshvara temple in Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district.JPG, Close up of wall relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
Image:Wall Carving at Amrutesvara Temple in Chikkamagaluru district.jpg, Wall relief sculpture of the Amrutesvara temple
Image:Battle scene in relief in Amruthesvara Temple at Amruthapura in Chikkamagaluru district.jpg, Wall relief sculpture at the Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Mythological scene from the Hindu legend in relief in the Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG, Wall relief sculpture at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Scene from the Hindu legend in relief in the Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG, Wall relief sculpture at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Perforated window art at mantapa entrance in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG, Perforated window art at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Hindu deity sculpture in the Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura 1.JPG, Hindu deity sculpture at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Domical ceiling art in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG, Domical ceiling art at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Domical ceiling art in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura 1.JPG, Domical ceiling art at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
File:Domical ceiling art in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura 6.JPG, Domical ceiling art at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
Image:Wall Sculpture at Amrutesvara Temple in Chikkamagaluru district.jpg, Wall relief sculpture, Amrutesvara temple
File:Decorative swirls on mantapa wall at Amruteshvara temple in Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district.JPG, Decorative swirls in bas-relief on mantapa outer wall at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura
Notes
See also
*
Hoysala architecture
Hoysala architecture is the building style in Hindu temple architecture developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire between the 11th and 14th centuries, in the region known today as Karnataka, a state of India. Hoysala influence was at its ...
*
Chikkamagaluru District
Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru is an administrative district in the Malnad subregion of Karnataka, India. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The hills of Chikmagalur are parts of the Western Ghauts and the source of ...
References
* Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples, Abhinav, 1996
* Suryanath U. Kamath, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002) , .
External links
Architectural marvel
{{Hindu temples in Karnataka
12th-century Hindu temples
Hindu temples in Chikkamagaluru district