Vijayanarayana Temple, Gundlupet

The Vijayanarayana Temple is located in the town of

Gundlupet Gundlupet (''Gundlupētē'' in Kannada) is a municipal town situated in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka, India. It is also known as "''The flower pot of India''". It is situated on NH 766, 60 km away from Mysuru and approximately ...

Chamarajanagar district Chamarajanagar or Chamarajanagara is the southernmost district in the state of Karnataka, India. It was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in 1998. Chamarajanagar town is the headquarters of this district. It is the third leas ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

state, India. The temple dates back to the 10th century rule of the

Western Ganga Dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 999 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Ganga Dynasty, Eastern Gangas who in later centuries r ...

, though it has received continuous patronage from later kingdoms as well, up to the 15th century

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.Vijayanagara

period. Tradition has it that the
Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Kingdom was a kingdom originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka, parts of Tamilnadu and South-Western Telangana between the 11th and the 14th centuries Common Era, CE. The c ...
King
Vishnuvardhana Vishnuvardhana () was a king of the Hoysala Empire in what is today the state of Karnataka, India. He ascended the Hoysala throne after the death of his elder brother Veera Ballala I in 1108. Originally a follower of Jainism and known as ...
was responsible for the consecration of the deity Vijayanarayana, a version of the Hindu god
Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Pu ...
(or
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
).

Temple plan
The temple consists of a sanctum (''
garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...
''), a vestibule (called ''sukhanasi'') that connects the sanctum to the ''navaranga'' (closed hall where devotees gather for prayers) and an open hall (''
mandapa A ''mandapa'' or ''mantapa'' () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture and Jain temple architecture. ''Mandapas'' are described as "open" or "closed" dependin ...
''). The base on which the walls of the ''navaranga'' are built (called ''adhisthana'') has the several moldings. The walls that rise from this have slender decorative pilasters. The open ''mantapa'' that has several ornate pillars appears to have modified the original north–south entrances that existed in the ''navaranga'' (also called ''mukhamantapa''). The entrance to temple has an impressive row of '' yali'' pillars that depict warriors riding lions. The temple has numerous independent sculptures including Anantha,
Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...
, and
Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...
, the monkey god from the Hindu epic Ramayana.

Notes

References
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External links
{{coord missing, Karnataka 10th-century Hindu temples Vijayanagara Empire Hindu temples in Chamarajanagar district Vishnu temples