Kedareshvara Temple, Balligavi

Kedareshvara Temple
Hindu temple
Kedareshvara temple (1070) at Balligavi in Shimoga district
Kedareshvara temple (1070) at Balligavi in Shimoga district
Country India
StateKarnataka
DistrictShimoga District
Languages
 • OfficialKannada
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)

The Kedareshvara temple (also spelt Kedareshwara or Kedaresvara) is located in the town of Balligavi (known variously in ancient inscriptions as Belagami, Belligave, Ballagamve and Ballipura), near Shikaripura in the Shimoga district of Karnataka state, India. Dotted with centres of learning (agrahara), Balligavi was an important city during the 11th - 12th century Western Chalukya rule. The term Anadi Rajadhani (ancient capital) used in medieval inscriptions to describe this town tells a tale of great antiquity.[1][2] Art historian Adam Hardy classifies the style involved in the construction of the temple as "Later Chalukya, non mainstream, relatively close to mainstream". He dates the temple to late 11th century, with inscriptional evidence of additions made up to 1131, by the Hoysalas during their control over the region. The building material used is soapstone. The Archaeological Survey of India classifies the style of architecture as distinctly Hoysala.[1][2] The Hoysala ruling family was during this period a powerful feudatory of the imperial Western Chalukya Empire, gaining the trappings of independence only from the period of King Vishnuvardhana (1108-1152 A.D).[3][4][5] The temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Kedareshvara Temple". Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle. ASI Bengaluru Circle. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  2. ^ a b Hardy (1995), p324
  3. ^ During the rule of King Vinyaditya (1047–1098), the Hoysalas established themselves as a powerful Chalukya feudatory (Chopra 2003, p151, part 1)
  4. ^ Sen (1999), p498
  5. ^ Foekema (1996), p14
  6. ^ "Alphabetical List of Monuments - Karnataka -Bangalore, Bangalore Circle, Karnataka". Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India. Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts. Retrieved 14 July 2012.