If you are planning for a pilgrimage with some sight seeing, historic tour & want to admire the marvellous ancient temples then head to Hasan district in Karnataka.
We left very early from Bangalore on a historic tour of Belur, Halebidu & Shravanabelagola. We took exit from 'Magadi road' of Bangalore & joined the Bangalore-Mangalore highway near "Kunigal' . We just zoomed through the excellent Bangalore-Mangalore highway & reached our first destination Shravanabelagola around 8:30am , about 160km from Bangalore.
Shravanabelagola is pilgrimage of utmost importance in Jain Religion. We quickly checked into the accommodation provided by Digamber Jain temple trust (situated near bus stand). Temple management also provides food to devotees.
We also observed some inscriptions carved into rocks of hill, in 'kannada' in praise of God & kings , & it is protected with glass cover. There are many captivating carvings & structures on the route, showing various subjects.
As we reached on top around 11:30 we took 'darshan' of gigantic statue of lord 'Gomeeshawara' , which of 58-feet tall & It is considered to be the world's largest monolithic stone statue. Every twelve years, thousands of devotees throng here to perform the Mahamastakabhisheka, a spectacular ceremony in which the statue is poured with milk, curds, ghee, saffron etc..
There are small statues of all 24 jain 'thirthankaras' around the statue of 'Gomteshawara'. The temple premises has interesting structures & rock carvings & its worth time spending there.
We got down the hill around 2pm & had lunch & then headed to the room. After taking the rest for some time, we spent the evening strolling around the streets of town & visiting other small temples.
Next day we woke up early & climbed the smaller peak-hillock called has "Chandragiri " , its quite easy compared to 'vindhyagiri' hill , with only around maybe 200+ steps. It was pleasant climb, as the sun was not harsh. Here too you will find many beauitiful Jain temples of 'thirthankaras' like 'Parshwanath' , 'Neminath'.
You can clearly see the statue lord 'Gomteshawara' on 'vindhyagiri' peak , from here & it looks enthralling.
We got down from "Chandragiri " hill around 10am , checked-out the room & left Shravanabelagola , to head towards in the early capital of the 'Hoysala' Empire i.e. Belur.
Belur is located about 82km from Shravanabelagola & ~30km from 'Hasan'. From Shravanabelagola , we crossed 'Channarayapattana' & reached 'Hasan'. But instead of entering into 'Hasan' city , went from outer road on Bangalore-Mangalore highway & directly went to belur road on State Highway 57 , to avoid city traffic. As we reached belur it was about 1pm & it was quite hot .
The 'Hoysala' empire was a prominent Southern Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu. It is said that young man Sala, who saved his Jain guru Sudatta by killing a Lion he encountered near the temple of the Goddess Vasantika at 'Angadi', now called 'Sosevuru'. The word "strike" literally translates to "hoy" in Hale Kannada (Old Kannada), hence the name "Hoy-sala". During the 'Hoysala' empire many marvellous temples were built & architecture itself known as 'Hoysala' architecture. The popular ones , which exhibit an amazing display of sculptural excellance, include the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at 'Halebidu'.
The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakeshava temple , which contains the Chennakesava Temple (dedicated to Chennakeshava (Lord Vishnu) , meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple built by Shantaladevi, queen of king Vishnuvardhana.
It is said that it took around 103 years to complete this complete. Inner sanctum of temple has intricate & bewitching carvings of various mythological figures & interesting patterns of design. The intricate design includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological episodes. Also the pillars are carved in very delicate manner.
One of the common sculpture depicting 'sala' killing the Lion , is carved at multiple locations , not only at this keshava temple, but also in all temples built during 'Hoysala' , including one at 'Halebidu'. If you are really interested in history, you should hire guide , who explains every details of various sculptures. After spending around one and half hour in belur we left 'Belur' around 3:30pm & headed towards 'Halebidu' , which is around 15km from Belur.
We reached 'Halebidu' around 4:15. The city got the name "Halebidu" (literally "old city") because during the early 14th century, it was ransacked two times by the Muslim invaders from northern India like Malik Kafur. The main attraction is Hoysaleswara temple dedicated to Hindu god Shiva. It was built during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. The construction was started around 1120 CE and completed in 1150 CE. The temple has two shrines and two superstructures, one for "Hoysaleswara" (the king) and the other for "Shantaleswara" (named after Shantala Devi, queen of King Vishnuvardhana) and is built with Soapstone.
There are two big Nandi statues in front of each shrine. The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, birds and shilabalikas or dancing figures. No two sculptures of the temple are the same. In all there are two hundred and forty such images/carvings.The intricate sculptures are found everywhere in temple premises , which leaves you spellbound. There is also beautiful garden in front of temple & its very tempting to spend time there particularly in evening.
There are few more attractions like Kedareswara temples and two Jain basadis(temples) , but we could not explore that. We left Halebidu around 6:30pm , enroute had dinner in Hasan and reached back Bangalore around 11:30 pm.
It really amazing , despite numerous attacks from outside invaders on India & each time they ruined the native monuments/temples , but still we have so much left & which is marvellous , beyond the description of words, so intricate & captivating. Its must visit to these temples , if you want to admire the grandeur of ancient India.
Note-
Rate this posting: We left very early from Bangalore on a historic tour of Belur, Halebidu & Shravanabelagola. We took exit from 'Magadi road' of Bangalore & joined the Bangalore-Mangalore highway near "Kunigal' . We just zoomed through the excellent Bangalore-Mangalore highway & reached our first destination Shravanabelagola around 8:30am , about 160km from Bangalore.
Shravanabelagola is pilgrimage of utmost importance in Jain Religion. We quickly checked into the accommodation provided by Digamber Jain temple trust (situated near bus stand). Temple management also provides food to devotees.
After having quick breakfast we started to climb the 'vindhyagiri' peak-hillock around 10am, where the colossal statue of lord 'Gomteshawara' is placed & is the main attraction of Shravanabelagola. There are around 700 steps carved into the rocks to ascend to top & shoes are not allowed to carry. So if its hot day, you should wear sox.
During the ascend route you encounter few temples like e.g. "Trikut temple" which contains beautiful statues of three 'thirthankaras' (Jain Lords) namely Aadinath, Shantinath and Neminath
We also observed some inscriptions carved into rocks of hill, in 'kannada' in praise of God & kings , & it is protected with glass cover. There are many captivating carvings & structures on the route, showing various subjects.
As we reached on top around 11:30 we took 'darshan' of gigantic statue of lord 'Gomeeshawara' , which of 58-feet tall & It is considered to be the world's largest monolithic stone statue. Every twelve years, thousands of devotees throng here to perform the Mahamastakabhisheka, a spectacular ceremony in which the statue is poured with milk, curds, ghee, saffron etc..
There are small statues of all 24 jain 'thirthankaras' around the statue of 'Gomteshawara'. The temple premises has interesting structures & rock carvings & its worth time spending there.
We got down the hill around 2pm & had lunch & then headed to the room. After taking the rest for some time, we spent the evening strolling around the streets of town & visiting other small temples.
Next day we woke up early & climbed the smaller peak-hillock called has "Chandragiri " , its quite easy compared to 'vindhyagiri' hill , with only around maybe 200+ steps. It was pleasant climb, as the sun was not harsh. Here too you will find many beauitiful Jain temples of 'thirthankaras' like 'Parshwanath' , 'Neminath'.
You can clearly see the statue lord 'Gomteshawara' on 'vindhyagiri' peak , from here & it looks enthralling.
We got down from "Chandragiri " hill around 10am , checked-out the room & left Shravanabelagola , to head towards in the early capital of the 'Hoysala' Empire i.e. Belur.
Belur is located about 82km from Shravanabelagola & ~30km from 'Hasan'. From Shravanabelagola , we crossed 'Channarayapattana' & reached 'Hasan'. But instead of entering into 'Hasan' city , went from outer road on Bangalore-Mangalore highway & directly went to belur road on State Highway 57 , to avoid city traffic. As we reached belur it was about 1pm & it was quite hot .
The 'Hoysala' empire was a prominent Southern Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu. It is said that young man Sala, who saved his Jain guru Sudatta by killing a Lion he encountered near the temple of the Goddess Vasantika at 'Angadi', now called 'Sosevuru'. The word "strike" literally translates to "hoy" in Hale Kannada (Old Kannada), hence the name "Hoy-sala". During the 'Hoysala' empire many marvellous temples were built & architecture itself known as 'Hoysala' architecture. The popular ones , which exhibit an amazing display of sculptural excellance, include the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at 'Halebidu'.
The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakeshava temple , which contains the Chennakesava Temple (dedicated to Chennakeshava (Lord Vishnu) , meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple built by Shantaladevi, queen of king Vishnuvardhana.
It is said that it took around 103 years to complete this complete. Inner sanctum of temple has intricate & bewitching carvings of various mythological figures & interesting patterns of design. The intricate design includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological episodes. Also the pillars are carved in very delicate manner.
One of the common sculpture depicting 'sala' killing the Lion , is carved at multiple locations , not only at this keshava temple, but also in all temples built during 'Hoysala' , including one at 'Halebidu'. If you are really interested in history, you should hire guide , who explains every details of various sculptures. After spending around one and half hour in belur we left 'Belur' around 3:30pm & headed towards 'Halebidu' , which is around 15km from Belur.
We reached 'Halebidu' around 4:15. The city got the name "Halebidu" (literally "old city") because during the early 14th century, it was ransacked two times by the Muslim invaders from northern India like Malik Kafur. The main attraction is Hoysaleswara temple dedicated to Hindu god Shiva. It was built during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. The construction was started around 1120 CE and completed in 1150 CE. The temple has two shrines and two superstructures, one for "Hoysaleswara" (the king) and the other for "Shantaleswara" (named after Shantala Devi, queen of King Vishnuvardhana) and is built with Soapstone.
There are two big Nandi statues in front of each shrine. The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, birds and shilabalikas or dancing figures. No two sculptures of the temple are the same. In all there are two hundred and forty such images/carvings.The intricate sculptures are found everywhere in temple premises , which leaves you spellbound. There is also beautiful garden in front of temple & its very tempting to spend time there particularly in evening.
There are few more attractions like Kedareswara temples and two Jain basadis(temples) , but we could not explore that. We left Halebidu around 6:30pm , enroute had dinner in Hasan and reached back Bangalore around 11:30 pm.
It really amazing , despite numerous attacks from outside invaders on India & each time they ruined the native monuments/temples , but still we have so much left & which is marvellous , beyond the description of words, so intricate & captivating. Its must visit to these temples , if you want to admire the grandeur of ancient India.
Note-
All temples in Belur, Halebidu & Shravanabelagola close by 6pm , so plan your visit accordingly.
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