Skip to main content

Somnathpur Keshava Temple


 Somanathapura:

Keshava Temple of Somanathapura/Somnathpur (ಸೋಮನಾಥಪುರ): This temple is a perfect example of the Hoysala style of architecture built in 1268 A.D. It has three sanctums on the west, south and north to Keshava, Venugopala & Janardhana, all connected. It is an ornately carved temple of magnificent craftsmanship depicting Vishnu, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, Rati-Manmatha & Mahishasura. The ceilings and door jambs leading to the sanctum sanctorium are exquisitely carved. The temple is in the care of the Archeological Survey of India as a protected heritage site
Somanathapura is just 50km away from the Shivanasamudra waterfalls so both can be covered in a single day from Bangalore. Nearest city is Mysore just 35km away.
Keshava temple has one of the best preserved stone carvings of ancient architecture of India, in a very good condition.

Keshava Temple of Somanathapura
 Stone carvings on the wall of The Keshava Temple

Basement Frieze Animated riders top a band of elephants that rests upon the temple platform. Elephants are often found on the lowest course of the walls, as here, where they are considered to symbolically support the temple on their backs.In another section of frieze, horsemen wielding swords and spears trample fallen warriors underfoot. Below, a convoy of elephants carries baskets and fruits. Almost every person and animal in this frieze, including the fallen warriors, is given an individualized attribute or posture.
Section of frieze at Keshava Temple
On the left, dancing Ganesh; on the right, Vishnu seated "at ease" on Ananta. Between the panels is a female drummer
Lord Ganesha & Lord Vishnu
Indra, the king of the gods, rides with his consort Shachi on the royal elephant. Among his attributes is a vajra (thunderbolt) held aloft in his right hand. The elephant is probably caparisoned like the real elephants of the time; its tusks are filed, as was often done to prevent injury to the animals' riders and keepers.
Indra
Stone carved pillars inside the temple; each of them has distinctive design
Pillars
The entire fabric of the temple is covered with sculptures; hardly a square inch of space has escaped the carver's hand. The main panels, which are elaborately-worked Vaishnava images, rest at shoulder height atop a banded frieze of processional figures and scenes from the Ramayana; above, a second band of sculptures underlies the richly carved sanctuary roof.

Corbeled Dome of Keshava Temple.
It was so dark inside the temple that only a flash light can make the roof visible.
Intricate Craftsmanship at temple's roof
Statues of Lord Keshava, Lord Krishna and Lord Vishnu
Lord Keshava, Lord Krishna and Lord Vishnu
Garuda - Vishnu's mount lacks obvious bird-like features in this sculpture. With his legs in flying posture, he supports Vishnu and Lakshmi on a spray of lotus.
Garuda 
Krishna Playing the Flute - Krishna, surrounded by attendants, plays the flute beneath a tree. His dress and crown are richly ornamented. The typically rococo (ornate and intricate) manner of such sculptures makes the Hoysala one of the easiest styles to recognize in Indian art. 
Krishna Playing the Flute

















Timings: 9:00AM to 5:30PM



Comments

  1. Thanks a lot for your generosity.....
    wish everybody was that thoughtful and helpful.......cheers...............Sthapati Architects, Specialises in Traditional architecture in Chennai. We have also designed Temple architecture in Chennai.

    Temple Architecture In Chennai

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Micromax Canvas 2 A110 Hands on Review

Micromax Superfone Canvas 2 A110(Jet Black/Calm White): After using it for a week, I felt pretty good about my decision for going with a new brand like Micromax over the mighty Samsung Galaxy S Duos and Sony Tipo Dual. Particularly not sure about its reliability but the build quality looks pretty decent. Below are my ratings for the phone aka Phablet. Build Quality (8/10): The build quality was above my expectations keeping in mind of the price tag, from front it looks just like a Galaxy high end smartphone like SIII or Note II. It has a matte finished back cover which is good for protection towards scratches and there is a metal casing all around the phone, which adds up the beauty of the phone. One more advantage of this phone is it has a touch home button instead of a hard button as seen in iPhone and Galaxy phones. Camera (5/10): [8MP autofocus (Tap to Focus), dual flash, supports up to 3264x2448 pixels, Panorama] Don't fall for the specs as it is said...

Interiors of Chennakeshava temple, Belur

Interiors of Belur Chennakeshava temple: Originally the interior received much daylight, but the added screens make it dark and mysterious. The interior of the temple consisting of a garbhagriha, Sukhanasi, navaranga and a mandapa takes us to a new world of sculptures with lathe turned pillars of various designs. The central square of the navaranga has four pillars decorated with bracket figures atop. These bracket figures are remarkably of superior workmanship in conception and execution. The Navaranga has raised verandah's on both sides of the three entrances. Sufficient space has been left out in the central hall (Navaranga) for musical performances and Puja (worship) ceremonies by large numbers of devotees and others. Sculptures on the entrance of Garbhagriha Pillars: There are a total of 48 pillars, while the four central pillars have been hand churned, the others had been lathe turned.  One of the four Pillar's at the central square of the ...

Madanikas of Belur Chennakeshava temple

Madanikas of Belur Chennakeshava temple: Most popular feature of Belur is its Shilabalike’s or the Bracket figures of different dance forms. Various poses of Madanika's at the Belur Chennakeshava temple. There are 42 Madanikas or Bracket figures on the corner out of which 38 are outside the temple and four are inside the temple. Each figure attracts on its own merits. They represent beautiful damsels in various moods representing feminine charm and grace, this perhaps are one of the best creations of the Hoysala sculptors of the Belur temple. There are a total of 40 pillars on the outer walls, each with a bracket figure of dancing girls (38 in total on outer walls). These sculptures are finely proportioned and exceedingly ornamented. Actual placement of the Madanika's op top of the columns Out of the 38 Madanikas on the outer walls, I've written a photologue on 25 and all the 4 interior Madanikas. Each one of these Madaniks are given a number to r...

How to update Micromax canvas 2 A110 with official Jelly Bean V3 - detailed steps

How to update Micromax A110 Canvas 2 to V3 ROM: I've just updated my canvas 2 to Jelly Bean official update from Micromax. Before you proceed I would like to make sure that this site is nowhere guaranteed for your successful upgrade and we are nowhere responsible for any claims. This is just a tried and tested genuine way to upgrade to Jellybean only for Micromax Canvas 2 A110 users. Software release notes (from Micromax ftp site): 1. Operating system is upgraded from ICS to Jelly bean. 2. M! Store is removed. 3. New wallpapers are integrated. 4. Software is backward compatible with old TP available (BYD Make). Here is what you can do by yourself and it is simple too. First of all take a complete backup of your data, you can use the following tools from the play.google.com 1. App Backup & Restore: to backup all your apps as apk files which will store them on mnt\sdcard2\ app_backup_restore 2. G Cloud Backup from GENIE9: It c...

Chennakeshava temple of Belur- Exteriors

Chennakeshava temple of Belur: Some facts about the Chennakeshava Temple: Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana defeated the Cholas at Talakad & to commemorate this great event built many temples in 1117 A.D., of which Chennakeshava temple at Belur is the most important & beautiful , dedicated to Keshava one of the 24 forms of Vishnu. Although the temple was completed by Narasimha, it took over 103 years to finish the structure. Though the legends assign this temple to have been built by Jakanachari, as per the inscriptions the master builders of this temple are Dasoja and his son Chavana, other sculptors include Chikka-Hampa, Malliyana, Padari Malloja, Masada and Nagoja who bestowed their best in creating this masterpiece. Chennakeshava Temple, Belur Back to the travelogue: Most important aspect of these Belur Halebeedu temples is that Chennakeshava temple is famous for beautiful and intricate interiors and Hoysaleshwara temple is famous for the magnificent sculpture...