Lakshmi Devi Temple, Doddagaddavalli

Lakshmidevi temple, constructed 1114 CE

The Lakshimi Devi temple is located in Doddagaddavalli, a village in Hassan District of Karnataka state, India. It is located 16 km from Hassan and lies on the route to the famous temple town, Belur. The town's main attraction, the Lakshmi Devi temple, was built by the Hoysalas in the year 1114 CE during the rule of king Vishnuvardhana. The temple is situated amidst pristine coconut plantations and has a lake at its rear which adds to the scenic beauty.

Lakshmi Devi temple

lateral entrance, Lakshmidevi temple

Kadamba shikara (tower)with Kalasa (pinnacle) on top

It is one of the earliest known temples built in Hoysala style and is built with Chloritic schist or Soapstone.^[1] The temple does not stand on a jagati (platform) which became popular in later Hoysala temples.^[2] The temple is said to have been built by a merchant called Kullahana Rahuta and his wife Sahaja Devi. The temple is a chatuskuta construction (four towers)^[3] built inside a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) stone enclosure with the entrance through a porch which is supported by circular lathe turned pillars.^[4] Three of the vimanas (shrines) have a common square mantapa (hall) with 9 bays.^[5] The fourth vimana is connected to the mantapa via an oblong extension consisting of 2 bays. The extension also has two lateral entrances into the temple. All the vimana have their original tower (superstructure) intact. The towers are in Kadamba nagara style.^[6] Each vimana has a vestibule connecting it to the central mantapa. On top of the vestibule is its own tower called sukanasi (or nose which looks like low extension of the main tower over the shrine). The sukanasi is a tier lower than the main tower over the shrine. All the four sukanasi are intact and so are the kalasa of the main towers.^[7] The sukanasi holds the Hoysala emblem of Sala fighting the tiger. Of the four towers, three are undecorated and they look stepped pyramidal with a pile of dented horizontal mouldings with the kalasa on top. The fourth tower is very well decorated which is typical of Hoysala designs and is the tower of the main shrine that houses the Lakshmi Devi image.

mantapa, Lakshmidevi temple

The mantapa is open and square. The reason for the square plan is the presence of shrines on all four sides of the mantapa with no side open for staggering.^[8] There is a separate fifth shrine of Bhairava, an Avatar of Lord Shiva. The shrine is complete with its own vimana and tower with a kalasa on top, a nose and Hoysala emblem on the it. Another unusual feature of the temple is the existence of four more shrines at each corner of the temple complex with two sides of each shrine attached to the courtyard wall. Each of these minor shrines has its own tower, kalasa and Hoysala emblem.^[9] On the whole the temple complex has nine towers which is unusual for a Hoysala temple.

Overall the temple has the older Hoysala style where there is only one eaves running round the temple where the main towers meet the wall of the shrine.^[10] At the base of the wall of the shrines are 5 mouldings and between the mouldings and the eaves, the usual panels of Hoysala sculptures depicting Hindu gods, goddesses and their attendants is missing. Instead, the whole space is taken up by decorative miniature towers on pilasters. The ceiling of the main hall is supported by 18 lathe-turned pillars. Inside there are two sculptures of large demonic living corpses called betala. The main shrine facing east has a 3-foot-tall (0.91 m) image of goddess Lakshmi with an attendant on either side. In her four hands, the image holds a conch in the upper right hand, a chakra (discuss) in the upper left, a rosary in the lower right and a mace in the lower left. In the shrines facing north, south and west are the idols of Kali, Vishnu, and Boothanatha Linga (the universal symbol of Shiva). A sculpture of Tandaveswara (dancing Shiva) exists in the circular panel at the center of the ceiling of the mantapa. Other important sculptures are those of Gajalakshmi (form of Lakshmi), Thandaveshwara and Yoganarasimha (form of Vishnu) found on the doorway of the temple.

Notes

1. ^ An idiom common to Western Chalukyas as well, Dr. S.U.Kamath, A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 136. The Western Chalukya carvings were done on green schist (Soapstone). This technique was adopted by the Hoysalas too, Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, Takeo Kamiya
2. ^ The jagati is a Hoysala innovation, Arthikaje, Mangalore. "History of Karnataka-Religion, Literature, Art and Architecture in Hoysala Empire". © 1998-00 OurKarnataka.Com, Inc. http://www.ourkarnataka.com/history.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 
3. ^ Most Hoysala temples are ekakuta (one tower), dvikuta (2 towers) or trikuta (3 towers), A complete guide to Hoysala temples, Gerard Foekema, pp 25
4. ^ The lathe turned pillars are a common feature of Western Chalukya-Hoysala temples, A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 117, Dr. S.U. Kamath
5. ^ A bay is a square or rectangular compartment in the hall, Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples pp 93
6. ^ The most prominent feature of the Kadamba architecture is their Shikhara called Kadamba Shikhara. The Shikhara is pyramid shaped and rises in steps without any decoration with a stupika or kalasa at the top, A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 38 Dr. S.U. Kamath. This type of tower is common throughout Karnataka and is also called a Pamasana, Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide To Hoysala Temples pp 58
7. ^ The kalasa is a water pot like structure that forms the highest point of the tower, Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples pp 27
8. ^ The open mantapa of Hoysala temples are generally in a staggered square pan, called a cross in square plan, Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide To Hoysala Temples pp 22
9. ^ The Hoysala emblem depicts Sala, the mythical founder of the empire fighting a Tiger, according to historians C. Hayavadhana Rao, J. D. M. Derrett, B. R Joshi, Sala was a mythical founder of the empire, A Concise history of Karnataka pp 123, Dr. S.U. Kamath, Arthikaje, Mangalore. "History of Karnataka-Hoysalas and their contributions". © 1998-00 OurKarnataka.Com, Inc. http://www.ourkarnataka.com/history.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-27. 
10. ^ An eaves is a projecting roof overhanging the wall, Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples pp 93

References

• Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide To Hoysala Temples, 1996, Abhinav, ISBN 978-81-7017-345-8
• Dr. Suryanath U. Kamath, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002)
• "Resplendent with sculptural beauty". Spectrum, Deccan Herald, Tuesday, March 16, 2004. Archived from the original on 2006-05-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20060528132407/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar162004/spt6.asp. Retrieved 2006-11-29. 
• "Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, Takeyo Kamiya". Gerard da Cunha, Architecture Autonomous, Goa, India. http://www.indoarch.org/. Retrieved 2006-11-29. 
• "History of Karnataka-Religion, Literature, Art and Architecture in Hoysala Empire-Arthikaje". © 1998-00 OurKarnataka.Com, Inc. http://www.ourkarnataka.com/history.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-29. 

External links

• More information
• Routemap & photos of Hoysala temples in Karnataka