Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi

Viranarayana temple, Belavadi
Vira Narayana temple of Belvadi
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictChikkamagaluru
DeityVishnu
Location
LocationBelvadi village
StateKarnataka
CountryIndia
Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi is located in India
Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi
Shown within India
Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi is located in Karnataka
Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi
Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi (Karnataka)
Geographic coordinates13°16′55.1″N 75°59′45.9″E / 13.281972°N 75.996083°E / 13.281972; 75.996083
Architecture
TypeHoysala
CreatorVeera Ballala II
Completedc. 1200 CE

The Veera Narayana temple, also referred to as the Viranarayana temple of Belavadi, is a triple Hindu temple with a complex Hoysala architecture completed around 1200 CE. Close to Halebidu, this is a better preserved large Hoysala monument found in the small village of Belavadi, Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, India.[1][2]

The temple has three separate square sanctums connected through an unusually large square ranga-mandapa (103 feet). The main shrine faces east and is dedicated to Viranarayana (Vishnu). The north facing shrine is dedicated to Gopala, while the south facing shrine is for Yoga-Narasimha. The temple was likely expanded in stages before it was damaged in the 14th-century, and some features were added to protect it from further destruction. The notable features of this stellate-style temple include its exquisitely ornamented Vesara superstructures (shikara) with jewelry-like details. Inside are the finely polished galaxy of pillars, some banded as if they are wearing jewels. The ceilings too are unusual panels of figural tableaux depicting Hindu legends about Krishna.[3]

The Veeranarayana temple is a nationally protected monument of India that is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India Bengaluru Circle.[1]

  1. ^ a b Viranarayana Temple - Belavadi, ASI
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference perfect was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Madhusudan A. Dhaky; Michael Meister (1996). Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, Volume 1 Part 3 South India Text & Plates. American Institute of Indian Studies. pp. 361–363. ISBN 978-81-86526-00-2.