Monday, December 6, 2010

Keshava Temple


I saw a lot of Hoysala Temples while in South India. This is the first one that my group visited. It was also my favorite. It's considered the best-preserved Hoysala temple. It's also small enough that it wasn't overwhelming and we could take in the plan of the temple all at once. (It's not evident from the pictures, but if you are standing there, you can tell that the temple is shaped like a many-pointed star). Just imagine a lot more of this, with some subtle variations in iconography that were significant to us as students, and you'll get an idea of what much of my trip consisted of.


The man in the entranceway is the shoe-minder. When going into certain temples at archaelogical sites, you have to remove your footwear. Then, you have to give some man a pittance to "mind" them. I think his purpose is purely ornamental, since it's unlikely that he's watching who has left which shoes on the rack.

Typical Hoyshala-style columns.


This repetition of the style of the building, called a "temple within a temple motif" is common in Hoyshala architecture.

As you approach the back of the temple, the design becomes simpler, focusing on the god image that is on the back wall. Usually, especially if the temple is still in worship, you can't take a picture of the god image.


One of lots of religious scenes on the outside of the temple. This one is Vishnu incarnated as narasinha (the man lion). The man who is credited with building this temple was a general under the rule of the Hoysala king Narasinha III, so this image appears a lot here in particular.



Some scenes of courtly life run along the base of the temple. You're supposed to walk around Hindu temples clockwise (a respectful practice known as pradakshina), so if you follow the images, you're essentially lead by the iconography to do the "right" thing when viewing the temple.

Note: This temple is in the small city of Somnathpur, technically, but I'm listing it under Mysore because I saw it while staying in Mysore.

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