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Halebidu (
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: Haḷēbīḍ, literally "old capital, city, encampment" or "ruined city") is a town located in Hassan District,
Karnataka 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 ...
. Historically known as Dorasamudra (also Dwarasamudra), Halebidu became the regal capital of the
Hoysala Empire 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 ...
in the 11th century CE. In the modern era literature it is sometimes referred to as Halebeedu or Halebid as the phonetic equivalent, a local name after it was damaged and deserted after being ransacked and looted twice by the forces of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century. Halebidu is home to some of the best examples of Hindu and Jain temples with
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 pe ...
. These show the breadth of Hindu artwork traditions – Shiva, Vishnu, Devi and Vedic deities – fused into the same temple complex, depicted with a diversity of regional heritages, along with inscriptions in scripts from South and North India. The Hindu temples include Jaina reliefs in its panel. Similarly, the Jaina artwork includes the different Tirthankara as well as a Saraswati within its mantapa. Most notable among the Halebidu monuments are the ornate Hoysalesvara temple, Kedareshwara temple, Jaina Basadi temples, as well as the Hulikere step well (''kalyani''). These sites are within a kilometer of each other. The Hoysaleshwara Temple remains the only surviving monument in Halebidu.


Location

Halebidu is connected by road and rail to
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 ...
(30 km),
Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
(150 km) and
Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
(184 km). It is about 15 kilometers from
Belur Belur may refer to: Places * Belur, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India ** Belur temple (Chennakeshava temple), Belur * Belur, Tamil Nadu, a town in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India * Belur, West Bengal, a neighbourhood of Howrah, India ** Be ...
, another site known for its intricately carved Hoysala era temples.


History

Halebidu is in the midst of a valley east of the Western Ghats. It is surrounded by low-lying mountains, boulders and seasonal rivers. This valley is well connected to northern Karnataka, western Andhra Pradesh and northern Tamil Nadu. Around this region, between the 10th and 14th-century, the Hoysaḷa dynasty came to power, whose history is unclear. By their own 11th and 12th-century inscriptions, they were descendants of the Krishna-Baladeva-roots and the Yadavas of Maharashtra. They married into the Kalyana Chalukya Hindu dynasty, known for its temple and art tradition. The reliability of these inscriptions have been questioned as potential mythistory by some historians, who propose that the Hoysalas were a local Hindu family – a hill chief from the Western Ghats remembered for having killed a tiger or a lion, and they seized and over time expanded their power starting in the 10th-century. Halebidu was built anew near a large reservoir by the early Hoysala kings, with support from their governors, merchants, and artisans. They greatly excavated and expanded the Dorasamudra reservoir. Major and spectacularly carved Hindu and Jain temples were already complete by the 12th-century. Around the city were fort walls, generally tracing a rounded square-like area with an average span of 2.25 kilometers. Inside were four major water reservoirs and many smaller public water tanks. The city life, it major temples and the roads were centered near the Dorasamudra water reservoir. The city several dozen temples, of which only a small set has survived. Three set of temples – Hoysaleswara (twin temple), Jain Basadi (three temples) and Kedareshvara (one temple) – were the largest, more sophisticated in their architecture and artwork, while the rest were simpler. To the immediate west of the major Hindu and Jain temples was the Hoysala Palace. This palace stretched south up to the ''Benne Gudda'' (''lit.'', butter hill). The palace is completely ruined and gone, with section lost in mounds and fragments found near the Benne Gudda. To the west of the palace was another group of Hindu and Jain temples – the Nagaresvara site, also destroyed whose ruins have been found in mounds. To the north of the original Hoysala city was a Saraswati temple and a Krishna temple, both also ruined and mostly lost. Towards the center and south of the old city were Hucesvara temple and a Rudresvara temple, evidenced by inscriptions and ruins that have been discovered. Four temples in northeastern section have survived – Gudlesvara, Virabhadra, Kumbalesvara and Ranganatha. The western part of the fortified section and beyond the fort were the historic farms that fed the population of the Dorasamudra capital. Roads connected the Hoysala capital to other major towns and pilgrimage sites such as Belur and Pushpagiri.Katherine E. Kasdorf (2013), ''Forming Dōrasamudra: Temples of the Hoysaḷa Capital in Context'', Columbia University Press Numerous inscriptions dating between mid 10th-century to early 13th-century attest to the importance of Dorasamudra to various Hoysala kings. After the
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and destruction of Dorasamudra in the 14th-century, inscriptions suggest that there were attempts to repair the temples, palace and infrastructure in Dorasamudra. As a condition to an end to the invasion, Malik Kafur of Delhi Sultanate demanded king Ballala to accept suzerainty of Khalji, pay tribute and provide logistical support to the Sultanate forces seeking to raid and loot the fabled wealth in the Pandya capital of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Additional waves of wars of destruction and loot from the Sultanates ended the Hoysala kingdom and Dorasamudra's prosperity as a capital city. For nearly 300 years, Dorasamudra saw no new inscriptions or evidence of political or economic prosperity. A mid 17th-century Nayaka era inscription in Belur thereafter becomes the first to mention "Halebidu". Meanwhile the surviving Hindu and Jain communities continued to support and repair the temples, with evidence of living temples in what is now the northern part of Halibidu.


Monuments

The major historic monuments in Halebid include: * Hoysaleswara Temple – the largest and most elaborate, a twin temple dedicated to Shiva with a major display of reliefs of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Vedic legends. *
Jain temples, Halebidu Jain Basadi complex in Halebidu, Hassan district consists of three Jain Basadis (Basti or temples) dedicated to the Jain Tirthankars Parshvanatha, Shantinatha and Adinatha. The complex is situated near Kedareshwara temple and ''Dwarasamudra ...
– three large temples in a row, close to Hoysaleswara, dedicated to Parshvanatha, Shantinatha and Adinatha of Jainism, major monolith Jina statues and intricately carved Saraswati *
Kedareshwara Temple, Halebidu Kedareshwara Temple (also spelt "Kedaresvara" or "Kedareshvara") is a Hoysala era construction in the historically important town of Halebidu, in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It is located a short distance away from the famou ...
– a three sanctum temple dedicated to Shiva, also with a galaxy of reliefs of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Vedic legends. *Northern group of historic Hindu and Jain temples – much simpler architecture and limited artwork, but living temples with ruins recovered by local community; these include the Gudlesvara, Virabhadra, Kumbalesvara and Ranganatha temples. *Nagaresvara and palace archaeological site – mounds and ruins; excavations of a few mounds have unearthed Hindu and Jain temple structures, idols and scattered parts *Hulikere step well – one of the most sophisticated 12th-century step well in south Karnataka, illustrates the public water infrastructure in erstwhile Hoysala capital *Museum – the park and near the Hoysaleswara temple


Nearby sites

*
Chennakeshava Temple, Belur Chennakeshava Temple, also referred to as Keshava, Kesava or Vijayanarayana Temple of Belur, is a 12th-century Hindu temple in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 CE, on the banks of ...
– 16 km from Halebidu, Belur was the first capital of the Hoysalas. The Chennakeshava temple is the largest pre-14th century Karnata tradition Hindu temples complex that has survived into the modern age. * Bucesvara Temple, Koravangala – a twin temple near Hassan city that synthesizes the pre-Hoysala traditions of Hindu architecture, includes artwork from all three major Hindu traditions; about southeast of Halebidu * Nageshvara-Chennakeshava Temple complex, Mosale – another major temple complex that presents Shaivism and Vaishnavism traditions together; about northeast of Halebidu *
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 ...
– a major three sanctum temples complex, about 25 kilometers from Belur, with beautiful carvings, preserved Vesara superstructure and a galaxy of artwork from all Hindu traditions; about north of Halebidu *
Lakshminarasimha Temple, Javagal The Lakshminarasimha temple at Javagal, sometimes referred to as Lakshmi Narasimha temple of Javagallu, is a mid-13th century Hindu temple with Hoysala architecture. It is located in Javagal about 20 km northeast from Halebidu and 50 k ...
– a triple sanctum shrine from the 13th-century, with a galaxy of artwork from all Hindu traditions; A Vesara architecture, where the aedicule on the outer walls show many major variants of Dravida and Nagara ''shikhara'' (superstructure) styles; it is about northeast from Halebidu. *
Lakshminarasimha Temple, Haranhalli The Lakshminarasimha temple at Haranhalli, sometimes referred to as Lakshmi Narasimha temple of Haranhalli, is one of two major historic Hindu temples that have survived in Haranhalli, Karnataka, India. It is triple-shrine temple dedicated to ...
and
Someshvara Temple, Haranhalli The Someshvara temple at Haranhalli, sometimes referred to as Somesvara temple of Haranhalli, is one of two major historic Hindu temples that have survived in Haranhalli, Karnataka, India. It is dedicated to Shiva, while the other – Lakshmi ...
– a set of Hindu temples from 1234 CE, with a complex two-storey Vesara-architecture, one dedicated to Vishnu avatars and the other to Shiva, but they include major reliefs of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism; about east from Halebidu. *
Ishvara Temple, Arasikere The Ishvara temple, also referred to as the Ishwara or Isvara temple, is an early 13th-century Hindu temple in Arsikere, Hassan district, Karnataka India. Dedicated to Shiva, it is one of the most notable early Hoysala architecture examples with ...
– a Vesara and Hoysala architecture Hindu temple for Shiva that illustrates the dome-style Hindu architecture for mandapa built about a hundred years before the first invasion of Delhi Sultanate and the start of Deccan version of the Indo-Islamic architecture. It is about 40 kilometers east-northeast of Halebidu. *
Lakshmi Devi Temple, Doddagaddavalli The Lakshmi Devi temple is an early 12th-century Hindu temples complex located in Doddagaddavalli village in Hassan District, Karnataka India. The main temple consists of four-shrines that share a common mandapa (hall), each sanctum being a squ ...
– one of the earliest Hoysala temples, four sanctums and beautifully carved; ; about south of Halebidu. *
Shravanabelagola Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage de ...
, Channarayapatna: a major group of many Jain and Hindu monuments; it is about southeast from Belur on National Highway 75, one of the most important Digambara Jainism pilgrimage site in South India. *
Nuggehalli The Lakshminarasimha temple at Nuggehalli is a 13th-century Hindu temple with Hoysala architecture in Nuggehalli village, Hassan district, Karnataka, India. This three shrine Vaishnava complex is dedicated to Keshava, Lakshminarayana and Venugop ...
group of temples – about to the east of Halebidu, with the Lakshminarasimha temple featuring an ingenious structure that makes three sanctums appear as one sanctum from outside; a Vesara architecture from the 13th-century. The other major temple in the village called the
Sadasiva Temple, Nuggehalli The Sadasiva temple at Nuggehalli is a 13th-century Shiva temple with Hoysala architecture in Nuggehalli village, Hassan district, Karnataka, India. The temple is one of the best illustrations of the Hoysala era Nagara temple with the stellate s ...
is a remarkable Hoysala synthesis of north Indian Nagara architecture with South Indian ideas on architecture.


Gallery

File:Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu (50129284638).jpg, Hoysaleshwara temple, Halebid – the most studied temple in the town File:Hoysalewara Temple Halebeedu.jpg, Hoysaleshwara temple File:Profile of the Parshvanatha basadi (1133 AD) at Halebidu.JPG, One of the three major Jain temples, Halebid File:A view of Kedareshwara Temple in Halebidu1.jpg, Kedareshvara temple File:12th century Halebid Shiva temple plan annotated.jpg, Floor plan of the Hoysaleshwar temple – a twin temple File:Bahubali monolith at Halebidu.jpg, Bahubali monolith at Halebidu File:12th-century Ganesha outside Shaivism Hindu temple Hoysaleswara arts Halebidu Karnataka India.jpg, Ganesha relief in the park File:Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu (50129283678).jpg, One of the two major Nandis File:1150 CE Hoysaleswara temple Halebidu Karnataka, Inscription, North Indian and South Indian scripts.jpg, Inscriptions in diverse Indian scripts File:Hulikere Tank Halebid.jpg, Floor plan of the Hulikere water tank built in the 12th-century


See also

*
Shravanabelagola Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage de ...
*
Somanathapura Somanathapura, also spelled Somanathpur, Somnathpur, or Somanathpura, is a town and Grama Panchayat in Tirumakudalu Narasipura, Mysore district in the state of Karnataka in India.Doddagaddavalli *
Javagal Javagal is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 2496100 Javagal, Tiptur, Karnataka It is located in the Arsikere taluk of Hassan district in Karnataka. The Lakshminarasimha temple, built in 1250 A.D., is an imp ...
*
Banavara Banavara is a town in the south Indian state of Karnataka.Village code= 2504700 Banavara,Hassan, Karnataka Geography Banavara is located in the Arsikere taluk of Hassan district in Karnataka. It is located 15 km from Arsikere city. ...


Notes


References


External links


Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala – Belur and Halebid
UNESCO World Heritage Sites Pending Application Package
Hoysalesvara Temple, Halebid
, Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle
Parsvanatha Basadi, Halebid
, Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle
Kedaresvara Temple, Halebid
, Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle
Shantinatha Basadi, Halebid
, Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle
Step well, Hulikere Halebid
, Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle {{Authority control Cities and towns in Hassan district Archaeological sites in Karnataka Former capital cities in India 12th-century Hindu temples 12th-century Jain temples Colossal Jain statues in India