Halebidu
Halebidu the ancient
Hoysala
capital houses the ornate Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples, and is one of
the well visited tourist attractions of Karnataka. Halebidu is located at a
distance of 149 km from
Mysore
and 31 km from Hassan. The Karnataka State Tourism Bureau offers a rather hectic
tour package (from Mysore) covering
Sravanabelagola,
Halebidu and
Belur in one day.
The
Hoysaleswara
temple dates back to the 12th century CE. It was built by Ketamalla a minister
of
Vishnuvardhana
the Hoysala ruler who also built the
Belur temple and the Mahabaleshwar temple at
Chamundi Hills near
Mysore. Halebidu was sacked by the armies
of Malik Kafur in early fourteenth century, after which it fell into a state of
disrepair and neglect.
The
Hoysaleswara temple enshrines
Hoysaleswara
and
Santaleswara.
Hoysaleswara is named after the builder Vishnuvardhana Hoysala and Santaleswara
after his wife, Queen Santala. The sancta are built on a stellar plan, with a
sukhanasi, navaranga and Nandi Mandapa. Each of these (temples) resembles the
Belur Chennakesava temple in plan.
The Hoysaleswara temple is a masterpiece,
studded with a profusion of carvings. Thousands of figures appear on its walls.
The basement of the temple has the most richly sculptured friezes. Horsemen
charge, war elephants charge, all in stone. Scenes from the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata add to the grandeur.
Art
historian
James
Fergusson
writes of Halebidu thus
The Hoysaleswara temple may be probably
considered as one of the most marvellous exhibitions of human labor to be found
even the patient east. The mode in which the eastern face is broken up by the
larger masses, so as to give height and play of light and shade, is a better way
of accomplishing what the Gothc artists attempted by their projections. This
however is surpassed by the western front, where the variety of outline and
arrangement and subordination of the various facets in which it is disposed,
must be considered as a masterpiece of design in its class.
If the friezes were to be spread
olong a plain surface, it would lose more than half its effect, while the
vertical angles, without interfering with the continuity of the frieze give
height and strength to the whole composition. The disposition of the horizontal
lines of the lower friezes is equally effective. Here again, the artistic
combination of horizongal and vertical lines and the play of outline and of
light and shate far surpass anything in gothic art.
There are pierced windows on the walls, about a
meter high each, with divinities set on pedestals with canopies above. The south
door is beautifully sculptured.
The
Kedareswara
temple built by King Ballala II, at Halebidu now in ruins is considered to be a
a gem of architecture. As with the Hoysaleswara temple, this temple has classic
friezes, and scenes from the epics. There are a hundred and eighty images set
under floral toranas in the upper parts of the walls. Also nearby, are Jain
temples dedicated to
Parsvanatha,
Santhanatha and
Adinatha
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