Chennakeshava Temple in Belur - Keshava or Kesava Temple
The rule of the Hoysala empire from the 10th to 14th centuries was marked by several architectural legacies that amaze the historians. Though there were a lot of religious centres built during that time, Halebidu and Belur are the towns that top the list for the visitors. Belur served as the capital of the Hoysalas for some time and later it was shifted to Halebidu. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Chenna - Beautiful; Kesava - Vishnu), the temple was commissioned by the mighty Hoysala ruler Vishnuvardhan in 1117 AD. It is studied that it took around 100 years by three generations of the royal family to complete this architectural masterpiece using more than 1000 artists. There were 2 reasons cited for the construction of this temple. One, is to commemorate the king’s victory over the Cholas and the other, is to honor Lord Vishnu to mark his conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism under the influence of his Guru and renowned saint Shri Ramanujacharya.
The temple complex comprises three important temples, Chennakeshava Temple (main temple), Kappe Chennigaraya Temple and Ranganayaki (Andal) Temple. The huge temple is enclosed in a walled structure with two entrances. The main entrance was destroyed by the invaders from Delhi Sultanate which was later restored during the Vijayanagar Empire. The bottom part of 5 storied main tower is made of hard stone while the top is made of brick and mortar, richly decorated with figures of Gods. The main temple is a unique star-shaped structure set on a raised platform. There are three gateways to the shrine built with soapstone and full of intricate designs throughout its structure. The overhead panel on the main door beautifully depicts the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. There are carvings of court scenes of King Vishnuvardhan on the left and his grandson Veer Ballala on the right on the walls of the East gate. The large Navrang Mandapa is adorned with highly polished and richly sculpted 48 pillars and ceilings of different designs.
The central ceiling of the mandapa is an exceptional beauty in the shape of an inverted lotus between two concentric circles. It is the representation of Trinities represented in a single stone through symbols. The central part is in the shape of an inverted Linga, Narasimha carved on the base and lotus flower in the middle symbol of Brahma. The main sanctum enshrines the beautifully ornamented 6 feet idol of four-armed Lord Vishnu with a halo, standing on a 3 feet pedestal. The upper two hands hold the discus and the conch whereas the lower two hands hold the mace and the lotus. Every inch and corner of the outer wall is beautifully decorated. The bottom of the wall has horizontal rows of carvings of elephants, lions and small figurines richly ornamented and intersected by larger vertical images carved out of a single stone with a stone interlocking system, locked with the wall.
Similar stone interlocking can be seen on the hanging eaves of the roof around the temple wall. There are about 650 carvings of elephants in different moods and no two figures are alike which are amazing to imagine. On the left side of the tower towards the South is a huge 42 feet high pillar carved out of a single stone called ‘Deepastambha’. Also called an antigravity pillar, it stands on its own weight on a raised platform with no support. The base of the pillar towards the North is little raised leading a gap between the platform and the pillar. A piece of paper can easily pass through the gap which is an outstanding example of skilled craftsmanship. With its location on the banks of the Yagachi River, amidst lush surroundings, this temple has negligible criterias to not be entitled into the UNESCO’s world heritage tag.