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 peak in the 13th century, when it dominated the Southern Deccan Plateau region. Large and small temples built during this era remain as examples of the Hoysala architectural style, including the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. Other examples of Hoysala craftsmanship are the temples at Belavadi, Amruthapura, Hosaholalu, Mosale, Arasikere, Basaralu, Kikkeri and Nuggehalli. Study of the Hoysala architectural style has revealed a negligible Indo-Aryan influence while the impact of Southern Indian style is more distinct.
Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi (City), Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire; it is mentioned in the Ramayana and the Puranas of Hinduism as Pampa Devi Tirtha Kshetra. Hampi continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, an active Adi Shankara-linked monastery and various monuments belonging to the old city.
Pattadakal, also called Raktapura, is a complex of 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka (India). Located on the west bank of the Malaprabha River in Bagalakote district, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is 14 miles (23 km) from Badami and about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Aihole, both of which are historically significant centres of Chalukya monuments. The monument is a protected site under Indian law and is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The Ratha Yatraof Puri, also rendered as the Ratha Jatra is considered the oldest and largest Hindu chariot festival celebrated annually, on the bright half of the lunar month of Ashadh (June-July). The festival is held at the city of Puri in the state of Odisha, India and associated with the deity Jagannath. During the festival, three deities are pulled in three massive, wooden chariots to Gundicha Temple whereby they reside there for a week and then return to the Jagnannath temple. Descriptions can be found in Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, the Skanda Purana, and the Kapila Samhita.
Aihole, also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in Karnataka, India that dates from the sixth century through the twelfth century CE. Most of the surviving monuments at the site date from the 7th to 10th centuries. Located around an eponymous small village surrounded by farmlands and sandstone hills, Aihole is a major archaeological site featuring over one hundred and twenty stone and cave temples spread along the Malaprabha river valley, in Bagalakote district. Hunagunda Taluk Distance 35 km
Ron is a taluka headquarters in Gadag district, Karnataka in India. Of historical importance, the town was termed Dronapur in ancient times. The temples are believed to be constructed by the ancient architect and warrior-priest Dronacharya.
The Badami cave temples are a complex of Hindu and Jain cave temples located in Badami, a town in the Bagalkot district in northern part of Karnataka, India. The caves are important examples of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukya architecture, and the earliest date from the 6th century. Badami is a modern name and was previously known as Vataapinagara, the capital of the early Chalukya dynasty, which ruled much of Karnataka from the 6th to the 8th century. Badami is situated on the west bank of a man-made lake ringed by an earthen wall with stone steps; it is surrounded on the north and south by forts built in later times. These caves were discovered by Stella Kramrisch in 1924.
Badami Chalukya architecture is a style in Hindu temple architecture that evolved in the 5th – 8th centuries CE in the Malaprabha river basin, in the present-day Bagalkot district of Karnataka state of India, under the Chalukya dynasty; later it spread more widely. This style is sometimes called the Vesara style and Chalukya style, a term that also includes the much later Western Chalukya architecture of the 11th and 12th centuries. Early Chalukya architecture, used by George Michell and others, equates to Badami Chalukya.
Dravidian architecture, or the South Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It is seen in Hindu temples, and the most distinctive difference from north Indian styles is the use of a shorter and more pyramidal tower over the garbhagriha or sanctuary called a vimana, where the north has taller towers, usually bending inwards as they rise, called shikharas. However, for modern visitors to larger temples the dominating feature is the high gopura or gatehouse at the edge of the compound; large temples have several, dwarfing the vimana; these are a much more recent development. There are numerous other distinct features such as the dwarapalakas – twin guardians at the main entrance and the inner sanctum of the temple and goshtams – deities carved in niches on the outer side walls of the garbhagriha.
Western Chalukya architecture, also known as Kalyani Chalukya or Later Chalukya architecture, is the distinctive style of ornamented architecture that evolved during the rule of the Western Chalukya Empire in the Tungabhadra region of modern central Karnataka, India, during the 11th and 12th centuries. Western Chalukyan political influence was at its peak in the Deccan Plateau during this period. The centre of cultural and temple-building activity lay in the Tungabhadra region, where large medieval workshops built numerous monuments. These monuments, regional variants of pre-existing dravida temples, form a climax to the wider regional temple architecture tradition called Vesara or Karnata dravida. Temples of all sizes built by the Chalukyan architects during this era remain today as examples of the architectural style.
Temples of North Karnataka
Halasuru Someshwara Temple is located in the neighborhood of Halasuru in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is one of the old temples in the city dating back to the Chola period, it is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Major additions or modifications were made during the late Vijayanagara Empire period under the rule of Hiriya Kempe Gowda II.
Gundicha Temple, is a Hindu temple, situated in the temple town of Puri in the state of Odisha, India. It is significant for being the destination of the celebrated annual Rath Yatra of Puri. While it remains vacant most of the year, the temple is occupied by images of the deities of Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra for seven complete days every year during the annual Rath Yatra festival.
The antiquity of architecture of Karnataka can be traced to its southern Neolithic and early Iron Age, Having witnessed the architectural ideological and utilitarian transformation from shelter- ritual- religion. Here the nomenclature 'Architecture' is as old as c.2000 B.C.E. The upper or late Neolithic people in order to make their shelters, they constructed huts made of wattle and doab, that were buttressed by stone boulders, presumably having conical roof resting on the bamboo or wooden posts into red murram or paved granite chips as revealed in archaeological excavations in sites like Brhamagiri, Sanganakallu, Tekkalakota, Piklihal. Megaliths are the dominant archaeological evidence of the early Iron Age. There are more than 2000 early Iron Age burial sites on record, who laid the foundation for a high non-perishable architecture in the form of various distinct architectural styles of stone built burials, which are ritualistic in its character. The active religious architecture is evident 345 with that of the Kadamba Dynasty. Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India originally known as the State of Mysore. Over the centuries, architectural monuments within the region displayed a diversity of influences, often relaying much about the artistic trends of the rulers of twelve different dynasties. Its architecture ranges dramatically from majestic monolith, such as the Gomateshwara, to Hindu and Jain places of worship, ruins of ancient cities, mausoleums and palaces of different architectural hue. Mysore Kingdom (Wodeyar) rule has also given an architectural master structure in the St. Philomena's Church at Mysore which was completed in 1956, in addition to many Dravidian style architectural temples. Two of the monuments are listed under the UNESCO World Heritage List of 22 cultural monuments in India. Styles of Indo-Saracenic, Renaissance, Corinthian, Hindu, Indo-Greek and Indo-British style palaces were built in Mysore, the city of palaces. Sikh architecture at Bidar (1512) and also in Bangalore in 1956 can also be cited as having an impact on the architectural composition of the state.
The Nanjundeshwara Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Shiva in the Hindu pilgrimage town of Nanjanagudu in Karnataka, India. It is located on the right bank of river Kapila, a tributary of the Kaveri. Nanjangudu is also known as "Dakshina Prayaga" or "Prayag of South".
The Kalleshvara temple is located in the town of Ambali in Bellary district of Karnataka state, India. According to an Old Kannada inscription placed in the sabhamantapa, the temple was constructed during the reign of the Western Chalukya Empire King Vikramaditya VI. This temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Kalleshwara temple is located in the village of Bagali it was 9km away from Harpanahalli city in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state, India.
The Nageshvara temple complex is located in Begur, a small town within the Bangalore urban district of Karnataka state, India. From inscriptions, it is known that Begur was once called Veppur, and Kelele. Two shrines within the temple complex, the Nageshvara and Nageshvarasvami were commissioned during the rule of Western Ganga Dynasty Kings Nitimarga I and Ereyappa Nitimarga II. The remaining shrines are considered a later day legacy of the rule of the Chola Dynasty over the region. An Old Kannada inscription, dated c. 890, that describes a "Bengaluru war" was discovered in this temple complex by the epigraphist R. Narasimhachar. The inscription is recorded in "Epigraphia Carnatica". This is the earliest evidence of the existence of a place called Bengaluru.
The Marikamba Temple is located in Sagara in the Shimoga district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It features the image of the goddess Marikamba Devi. The temple was built in the center of the city during the reign of Venkatappa Nayaka who ruled over Keladi and Ikkeri kingdom during the 16th century. Marikamba was the family deity of the Nayaka dynasty.
The Bhimeshvara temple is a temple in the town of Nilagunda in the Davangere district of Karnataka state, India.
