The architectural gems of the Hoysala dynasty in Karnataka India are the Hindu temples of Belur and Halebidu from the 12th century. King Vishnuvardhana sponsored the construction of both temples in South India. The Hoysala dynasty ruled between the 10th and 14th century.
The Hoysaleswara Temple of Halebidu
The Shiva temple of Halebidu has intricate soapstone carvings throughout the structure, which took 190 years to build started in 1121 A.D. The carvings are not only beautifully detailed to look at but they also have significant meaning that is philosophical, religious and cultural.
First, the base of the outer walls of the entire structure is made up of many carvings from the bottom to the top. The lowest band of carvings is made up of 1248 elephants, each one different and stands for stability. The 2nd band of 200 meters of artwork above are made up of lions, not one similar to another, and stands for courage. The next band of flowers and creepers are for beauty. The band of horses above is for speed. The band above is detailed carvings of scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana. The band above is of the mythical Makara animal. The next is the swan bird or the vehicle of Brahma. The next band is of dancers and musicians with various instruments and poses. Above that are scenes of Kama Sutra or panels of love.
All of these bands makes up of only the base.
In addition, there are numerous carvings above depicting various scenes from Hinduism and beautiful cultural settings. There is a carving of Krishna holding up the Govardhana mountain to protect his village Gokula from the torrential rains caused by Lord Indra. The people and cattle are taking shelter underneath.
Also since this is a Shiva temple, there are two Nandi or bull sculptures each individually carved from a single soapstone and polished to a mirror finish. Shiva and Parvati sitting on Nandi.
Furthermore, there is a carving of a man holding a telescope. There is a rendition of advanced war machinery like a wagon launching multiple warheads. Also there is carving of a man wearing modern western clothes. Interestingly, the 12 foot tall pillars or columns all around the temple seem like they are precision machined on a lathe around 900 years ago.
Beyond just scratching the surface of amazing, historical and architectural design, the temple is functionally active for religious purposes. The shrine comprises of a Shiva lingham.
The Chennakeshava Temple of Belur
The Vishnu Temple of Belur is built on a star shaped platform indicative of the Hoysala Dynasty architecture and started in 1117 A.D took 103 years to finish.
Exemplifying the namesake Hoysala Dynasty is the sculpture of the founder killing the tiger creature at the main entrance. The temple at Belur also has a depiction of the king Vishnuvardhana with his queen Shantala Devi and philosopher Ramanuja Acharya. The Dashaavatar or ten avatars or incarnations of Vishnu is carved on top of the main entrance of the temple. The entrance carved out of one stone.
The temple at Belur consists of religious carvings but also has more cultural carvings than the Halebidu temple. There are 42 statues all around the temple at the top. The statues depict beauty, courage, comedy and others. One is a beautiful maiden looking at herself in the mirror waiting for her lover and a monkey with sour grapes sucking its finger make up one sculpture comparison. Another statue is a monkey pulling at the saree of a woman. Yet another one is of the woman with a bow aiming to hunt with a deer by the side. There are also carvings of a boy with a mythical girl with a donkey face and the saying is to a 16 year old boy all women will look beautiful.
The base of the outer temple also has 644 individually distinct elephants. There is also a hexnut depicted hundreds of years ago in history before modern times and tools.
As this is a Vishnu temple there is a Dwajasthambam or pillar for Garuda to rest. The one at Belur is 42 meters tall and free standing without any support standing only because of gravity. This is a marvel of engineering ability and beauty.
Actually, the empire was invaded and these Belur and Halebidu temples were plundered damaged and destroyed by a Delhi Muslim sultanate. Many of the sculptures are in a museum in London as well.
Regardless of the time of almost 900 years and the many invasions the beauty of these temples are a hidden beauty. These temples are an engineering marvel, with beauty, philosophy, architecture and culture mixed together to be gems of Southern India.