Belur and Halebeedu
Hoysalas, the great patrons of architecture built around 1521 temples at about 952 places over a period of 200 years. Around 452 of these have survived and most of them located in Hassan. Hassan located in Karnataka is a land rich in history, art, architecture and natural beauty!
The Hoysala dynasty reigned from 11th to 14th century over the area between rivers Cauvery and Tungabhandra and built these beautiful masterpieces of architecture, culture and tradition. In the early 14th century, Alla-ud-din Khilji sends his commander Malik Kafur on an expedition to conquer the isolated South. Malik Kafur took away camel loads of jewellery, gold and silver from here. In 1311, Malik Khafur plundered Devagiri and Halebeedu (then known as Dwarasamudra). The king Veera Ballala III resisted the onslaught for 3 decades and was finally killed in the battle of Madurai in 1343. This marked the end of the glorious Hoysala empire.
Hoysaleshwara Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Its construction started in 1121 and went on until 1207 for around a century. Thousands of intricately carved sculptures depicting scenes from Ramayana, Mahabharatha and Puranas adorn the temple walls. There are about 35000 carved sculptures in the shrine, but several of them ruined or stolen by the Sultans.
Chenna Keshava Temple, Belur
This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The construction commenced in 1116 A.D. by king Vishnuvardhana and his grandson completed it after 103 years. King Vishnuvardhana is said to have dreamt about Lord Keshava during his night stay at the Baba Budan forest and decided to construct the Chenna Keshava temple at Belur.
