Kalleshvara Temple

Kalleshwara Temple in Hirehadagali

The Kalleshwara Temple ( Kannada : ಕಲ್ಲೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಹಿರೇ ಹಡಗಲಿ) in the city of Hirehadagali in the Bellary district in Karnataka (South India) is an 11th century temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva . The temple (mandir) was placed under protection by the Archaeological Survey of India as a structure of national importance.

history

The temple was built around 1057 as a foundation by Demarasa; he was Prime Minister (mahamatya) of King Someshvara I (ruled 1042 to 1068) from the Western Chalukya dynasty . Large parts of the tower above the cella were later destroyed by human hands and then replaced.

Style direction

The art historian Adam Hardy calls the temple Kattesvara and classifies it among the buildings typical of Western Chalukya architecture. The architectural style is also referred to as the “Kalyani Chalukya style”. The building is considered to be one of the first temples in South India to be built entirely from soapstone .

description

Vesara- style tower above the cella with steles in front of the base zone

The main temple consists of two shrines (dvikuta) , but only one carries a horizontally tiered tower structure ( vimana ) , the upper part of which including the kalasha jug has been renewed. Each of the two shrines has a raised cella ( garbhagriha ) and a short anteroom ( antarala or sukhanasi) . In the cella itself there is a lingam made of black stone with a surrounding yoni ; immediately in front of it the lying Nandi bull, which is obligatory for a Shiva temple, watches over . The soapstone pillars of the vestibule (mandapa) are only partially turned ; the ceiling segments are decorated with flat rosettes . The temple does not rest on a walk-around platform ( jagati ) , so that the ritual circumnavigation ( pradakshina ) is only possible on the ground level covered with stone slabs and surrounded by several side shrines. The decorations on the outer walls of the main temple and the vestibule are a prime example of Chalukya art - the richly structured and ornamented walls (for example with balcony niches and their turrets) are divided into protrusions and niches with columns and relief sculptures of Hindu deities such as Indra , Shiva , his wife Parvati , Lakshmi and others. However, there are no figure reliefs, but a number of figural steles are unusually placed in front of the base zone. The passage to the anteroom is decorated with artistic sculptures of the two doormen ( dvarapalas ) Rati and Manmatha ( Goddess of Love and God of Love). The lintel (lalata) shows the auspicious motif of the Gajalakshmi, a frequently recurring and auspicious motif in Indian temples . Above the door there are neatly crafted representations of Brahma , Keshava (a manifestation of Vishnu ) and Shiva.

Nandi shrine

Outside the actual temple there is a once open hall (nandimandapa) , which houses a sculpture of the bull Nandi - Shiva's companion and mount - which has been converted into a shrine.

Inscription steles

According to the art historian Ajay Sinha , the temple is referred to as Bhimesvara-Demesvara on an inscription in Kannada from 1057 . The same inscription also goes into the genealogy of the Chalukya dynasty and lists, for example, the prince (kumara) Vikramaditya VI. on. Another Kannada inscription from 1108 (reign of Vikramaditya VI.) Provides details about the temple consecration carried out by Udayaditya at the instigation of Demarasa. A third, poetic, Kannada inscription from 1212 falls during the reign of the King of the Hoysala Vira Ballala II.

Ornate outer walls
Entrance from the vestibule to the vestibule
View from the vestibule to the outside walls of the cella
Anteroom with Nandi guarding the cella
Stele from 1108 in Altkannada
Stele from 1212 in Altkannada

literature

Adam Hardy: Indian Temple Architecture. Form and Transformation: the Karṇāṭa Drāviḍa Tradition, 7th to 13th Centuries. Abhinav Publ. New Delhi 1995, ISBN = 81-7017-312-4.
Gerard Foekema: A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples. Abhinav Publ. New Delhi 1996, ISBN = 81-7017-345-0