TheAmruteshvara temple also spelt "Amrutesvara" or "Amruteshwara", is located in the village of Amruthapura, 67 km north ofChikmagalur town in theChikkamagaluru district of theKarnataka state,India. Located 110 km fromHassan and 50 km fromShimoga on NH 206, Amruthapura is known for the Amruteshvara temple. The temple was built in 1196 CE by AmrutheshwaraDandanayaka (lit, "commander") underHoysala KingVeera Ballala II.[1]
Profile, Amrutesvara temple (1196 CE)Openmantapa (hall) with shining, lathe-turned pillars in Amrutesvara temple at AmruthapuraKirtimukha decoration (demon faces) onShikhara (tower) at AmruthapuraOld Kannada inscription (1196 CE) in the Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura
The temple is a built according toHoysala architecture with a wide openmantapa (hall).[2] The temple has an original outer wall with unique equally spaced circular carvings. The temple has onevimana (shrine and tower) and therefore is aekakuta design,[3] and has a closedmantapa (hall) that connects the sanctum to the large openmantapa.
It is medium-sized Hoysala temple with certain vastu features similar to theVeera Narayana Temple, Belavadi inmantapa structure and size. The openmantapa has twenty nine bays,[4] and the closedmantapa has nine bays with a side porch that leads to a separate shrine on the south side. The shrine is square in shape has the original superstructure (shikhara) which is adorned with sculptures ofKirtimukhas (demon faces), miniature decorative towers (aedicule). Below the superstructure, the usually seen panel ofHindu deities is absent. The base of the wall has five mouldings which according to art critic Foekema is an "older Hoysala style".[5] Thesukanasi, the tower on top of thevestibule that connects the sanctum to the closedmantapa (theSukanasi appears like the nose of the superstructure),[6] has the original Hoysala emblem of "Sala" fighting the lion.[7][8]
The rows of shining lathe turned pillars that support the ceiling of themantapa is a Hoysala-Chalukya decorative idiom.[9] Themantapa has many deeply domed inner ceiling structures adorned with floral designs. The outer parapet wall of the openmantapa has a total of hundred and forty panel sculptures with depictions from the Hindu epics. Unlike many Hoysala temples where the panels are small and carvings in miniature, these panels are comparatively larger. TheRamayana is sculpted on the south side wall on seventy panels, with the story proceeding quite unusually, in anti-clockwise direction. On the north side wall, all depictions are clockwise, a norm in Hoysala architectural articulation. Twenty five panels depict the life of the Hindu godKrishna and the remaining forty five panels depict scenes from the epicMahabharata.[9]
Ruvari Mallitamma, the well known sculptor and architect is known to have started his career here working on the domed ceilings in the mainmantapa.[10]
The large stone inscription near the porch contains poems composed by medieval Kannada poetJanna who had the honorificKavichakravarti (lit, "emperor among poets").[1]
^Quote:"Depending on the number of towers, temples are classified asekakuta (one),dvikuta (two),trikuta (three),chatushkuta (four) andpanchakuta (five). The last two types are rare. Sometimes atrikuta temple is literally nottrikuta as only the central of three shrines may have a superstructure", Foekema (1996), p25
^Quote:"A bay is a square or rectangular compartment in the hall", Foekema (1996) p36, p93
^Quote:"In a typical "older style" that was popular throughout most of the 12th century Hoysala temples, there is one set ofeaves where the tower meets the wall of the shrine. The eaves runs all around the temple. Eaves is a projecting roof overhanging the temple wall. Below the eaves are decorated miniature towers on pilasters. Below these towers are the wall panels of Hindu Gods, Goddesses and their attendants. Below these panels are the five mouldings", Foekema (1996), p28
^According to Kamath, Sala fights a tiger. According to historians such as C. Hayavadhana Rao,J. D. M. Derrett and B. R Joshi, "Sala" was the mythical founder of the empire, Kamath (2001), p123
^abQuote:"a common feature of Western Chalukya-Hoysala temples", Kamath (2001), p117
Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples, Abhinav, 1996ISBN978-81-7017-345-8
Suryanath U. Kamath, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002)LCCN80-905179,OCLC7796041.
India
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