Shri Channakeshava Devastana, Arakere

Sept 17, 2024. Sridhar and I were on a day tour of Hoysala temples of the northern part of Hassan district. Before the first temple of the day, we stopped at the historic stepped well called Aiyyana Baavi situated 6 km from Tiptur. The well probably was constructed in the XVI Century CE at the behest of a wandering Veerashaiva monk to overcome water scarcity problems of the village nearby. Next was Chandramouleshwara Devastana at Arasikere followed by Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Devastana which is a couple of kilometers from Chandramouleshwara. Then drove to Lakshmi Narasimha Devastana at Javagal followed by Viranarayana Devastana at Belavadi which happens to be part of Chikmagalur district. We had lunch at Belavadi and then started our return journey. 21 km away was Arakere the last place of the day.

Arakere is a peaceful little village with two historic temples- Channakeshava Devastana and Rameshwara Devastana. While the former is at the village center, the latter is situated on the village's pond shore. The locality in front of Channakeshava Devastana is an Agrahara, community of priestly Brahmins. The temple caretaker was present with the temple gates open.

One of the sources says this east-facing Trikutachala dates back to XIII Century CE. It was built by a wealthy merchant named Damodara Setty from Kerala who had settled in this region during the reign of Hoysala king Narasimha II. This is supposed to be mentioned in an inscription present inside the temple.

An inscription slab stands at the temple entrance. The temple's Mukhamantapa is missing but the platform and a couple of columns have survived.

On the left hand side of the temple entrance are interesting sculptures- a young woman, a sitting Ganapati, a woman warrior holding sword & shield. Take a closer look at the young woman's attire- there's a checkered pattern. Folds of flesh have also been depicted beautifully. Sadly layers of the stone has eroded.

A closer look at the woman warrior. Her lower garment too has a checkered pattern. The shield somehow reminds me of Roman army shields. Turning attention to the other sculpture.. whether it's a man or woman, I can't say. On the right leg is a garment which seems like short pants but the other leg doesn't have anything like that. Wondering if this sculpture is incomplete.

Going round the temple in Pradakshina way. This temple's decor is less intense compared to other Hoysala temples in this region. The sculptures are less detailed but effective.

Going left to right: Narayana seated on Adishesha. Next is a man armed with sword and wearing pant like garment. Next is Vishnu's Varaha Avatara.

The man with raised sword and curly hair, holding a bundle in right hand... who could this be? The dancing woman with let out hair seems like a powerful character. I found this sculpture to be the most interesting here.

Here's that dancing woman. Holding a staff in right hand and an unrecognizable object in left hand. Her straight long hair spread out like a fan. Also there's a rope like garment hanging from her shoulder.

Moving on, we have Lakshmi Narayana attended by two ladies with chamar. The standing figure seems like Narayana, features are unclear. Also the faces have been vandalized. The caretaker was with us all the time, he mentioned that people of khommunity come here with ill intentions. They deface sculptures or take demeaning pictures with sculptures. I wonder why those people have such deceptive & destructive mindsets. 

Moving on to the next corner. Here are well built men, probably warriors. The sculptures are damaged.. hands and weapons are missing. Two of them are sporting long hair tied like a ponytail.

Here's a man astride an animal seemingly like a bison. This could be Yamaraj. In the middle, a woman in dancing posture. Despite the damages, finer details are still visible, like the design on the fabric. On the right is a young man.. his posture I don't know what it is. His left hand is upright, like a Abhaya Hasta.

The next corner. The man on the left seems to be drummer.  The middle and left men seem to be a team, their attires are similar, even their hairstyles are same. The other two sculptures depicting a man and woman seem incomplete besides the damages. The woman is holding an object which seems like a corn cob which can be seen at other Hoysala temples too.

At the middle of the next wall is Ugranarasimha. On the right are Garuda and Narayana sculptures, I think. On the left is a gigantic man on whose shoulders are a man and woman. This sculpture seems to be depicting a story from Mahabharata.

The next wall is totally occupied by images of Narayana,

As you see, even the Shikhara is quite simple compared to other Hoysala temples. Strange thing is that not one sculpture of Hoysala is present in this teemple.

The next set of sculptures is to Vishnu's three avatars. Matsya, Kurma and Varaha.

The next corner seems to be continuation of the avatars- Narasimha and Vaman. Next to Vamana doesn't seem to be Parusharama. So who is that? On the other wall is a couple, that could be Rama & Sita. The lone standing figure is Krishna? Not sure. Lastly, the headless sitting figure should be Buddha.

On the foremost northern wall is Krishna dancing on serpent Kalia's head, flanking him are two woman bearing Chamara (fan). On the right edge is a warrior armed with sword & shield. And close to the left edge is a woman with long straight hair.

Side view of the full temple. 

Coming to the last corner. Here we have a woman squatting in birth-giving position. In the corner are two warriors, one of them is holding a severed head and the other one is holding some unrecognizable object.

Two more warriors, while one is armed with spear & shield the other is armed with sword & shield. All warriors seen so far seem to be of royal blood. Assuming that based on the attire featured on them.

Back at the temple entrance. On the facade is Govardhana Giridhari, the act of Krishna lifting a mountain with cattle with his little finger.

The more I look at this temple, the more I feel this may not be Hoysala creation. It could've been built before the Hoysalas, and later the sculptures were added during Vijayanagara rule. Well, that's my thought. If an inscription has mentioned this temple was built during Hoysala reign, that can't be false.

Lastly, before we exit the temple, I noticed the etchings on the well worn soapstone steps. All English letters. One of them is H.G.S 1.10.60. I'm assuming this was engraved in 1960, that's 64 years ago. Someone wanted to make a long lasting impression, and succeeded.

With this we called it a tour and prepared to head back home, to our rural home at Bhogasandra. We reached home just before sunset, that was our plan. No traveling after sunset is our motto and we intend to stick to it as much as possible.

Back home I realized that we missed the second temple at Arakere which happens to be Sri Rameshwara Devastana. Also, we missed out another village completely which happened to be Haranahalli. It was just 9 km south of Arasikere. Anyway, there are a few more ancient sites I unearthed recently. The missed out temples will be covered during a future tour.

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Sri Lakshminarasimha Devastana, Javagal

Javagal was the fourth item of our sunrise to sunset tour of Sept-17th. It was quarter past eleven when reached Sri Lakshminarasimha Devastana. While one source says this temple was built by the ninth Hoysala king Veera Someshwara between 1240 and 1260 CE, the ASI board says it was built by king Vishnuvardhana. But it's a Hoysala monument, that's for sure.

Here's the temple's Mahadwara, a typical feature of Vijayanagara times. Probably this gateway was erected during Vijayanagara rule. The gateway is large enough to let an elephant pass through speaking of which check out the stone elephants flanking the door.

A closer look at the elephant idols featuring heavy jewelry.

Sridhar and I go around the temple enclosure which consists of our structures- two temples and two mantapas. This is the rear view of the secondary temple.

A diagonal view of the secondary temple.

This is a view of the main temple which happens to be a Trikutachala. The structure has all the features of a Hoysala creation... built on a platform, richly decorated layered walls and a pyramidal Shikhara.

To the right edge of the enclosure is this pillared hall which could be a Kalyana Mantapa i.e. a wedding hall.

At the northwestern corner of the enclosure is this small ancient structure which seems to be a shelter for travelers. The structure's design is close to the main temple i.e. the platform and pillars seem to of that time.

After a quick walk around we enter the enclosure. The Mahadwara is an imposing structure. Also there are two Stambhas here, Garuda Stambha between the Mahadwara and the main temple, and the second one to the side.

A front diagonal view of the secondary temple. We didn't really check this out. I feel this is an inactive temple.

Here's the main temple. The entrance is guarded by doorkeepers Jaya and Vijaya. 

A board planted here describes the monument as follows:

ಆಯುಕ್ತರು ಪ್ರಾಚ್ಯವಸ್ತು ಸಂಗ್ರಹಾಲಯಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಪರಂಪರೆ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಮೈಸೂರು
ಶ್ರೀ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ನರಸಿಂಹ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಜಾವಗಲ್, ಅರಸೀಕೆರೆ (ತಾ) ಹಾಸನ.
ಜಾವಗಲ್ನ ಶ್ರೀ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀನರಸಿಂಹ ದೇವಾಲಯವು ಹೊಯ್ಸಳರ ಕಾಲದ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ದೇವಾಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು. ಈ ದೇವಾಲಯವನ್ನು ಹೊಯ್ಸಳ ದೊರೆ ವಿಷ್ಣುವರ್ಧನ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿದನು. ಈ ದೇವಾಲಯವು ತ್ರಿಕೂಟ ದೇವಾಲಯವಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ದೇವಾಲಯವನ್ನು ನಕ್ಷತ್ರಾಕಾರದ ವೇದಿಕೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಲಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಇದು ಮೂರು ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹಗಳು, ನವರಂಗ ಹಾಗೂ ಮುಖಮಂಟಪವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಶವ, ಬಲಭಾಗದ ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಗೋಪಾಲ, ಎಡಭಾಗದ ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀನರಸಿಂಹನ ಮೂರ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಾಪಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅಧೀನ ದೇವಾಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಿಸಲಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀನರಸಿಂಹನನ್ನು ಮುಖ್ಯ ದೇವರೆಂದು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ದೇವಾಲಯದ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹದ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ದೇವಕೋಷ್ಠಗಳಲ್ಲಿ (ಗೂಡುಗಳು) ಗಣೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಿಷಮರ್ಧಿನಿಯ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಮುಖಮಂಟಪದಲ್ಲಿನ ಕಣಶಿಲೆಯಿಂದ
ಮಾಡಿದ ಮಹಾದ್ವಾರ ಹಾಗು ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ದೇವಾಲಯವನ್ನು ಮುಖ್ಯ ದೇವಾಲಯಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರ್ಪಡಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ನವರಂಗದ ದ್ವಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ದ್ವಾರಪಾಲಕ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳಿವೆ ಮತ್ತು ನವರಂಗದ ಉತ್ತರಾಂಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಳಿಯ ಮರ್ಧನದ ಕೆತ್ತನೆ ಕಂಡುಬಂದಿದೆ. ದಕ್ಷಿಣದ ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರು ಅಡಿ ಎತ್ತರದ ವೇಣುಗೋಪಾಲನ ಮೂರ್ತಿ ಇದೆ. ಉತ್ತರದ ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಗರುಡ ಪೀಠದ ಮೇಲಿರುವ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀನರಸಿಂಹನ ಮೂರ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದು ಇದರ ಮುಂದೆ ಗರುಡನ ಮೂರ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹವು ಒಂದೇ ಚಪ್ಪಡಿಯಿಂದ ಕೆತ್ತಿದ ಕಮಲ ಗುಮ್ಮಟವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವಿಷ್ಣುವಿನ ಶ್ರೀಧರ ಮೂರ್ತಿ ಪೀಠದ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಂತಿದೆ ಅದರ ಮುಂದೆ ಗರುಡನನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆ. ದೇವಾಲಯದ ಹೊರಗೋಡೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಪೌರಾಣಿಕ ಕಥೆಗಳನ್ನು, ರಾಮಾಯಣದ ಕಥೆಗಳನ್ನು ಇನ್ನು ಅನೇಕ ದೃಶ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಪಟ್ಟಕೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆ. ದೇವಾಲಯದ ಮಹಾದ್ವಾರವು ಸುಮಾರು ಅಡಿ ಎತ್ತರ ಹಾಗೂ ೭ ಅಡಿ ಅಗಲವಿದ್ದು ಕಣಶಿಲೆಯ ಚಪ್ಪಡಿಗಳಿಂದ ಮಾಡಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದೆ. ಈ ದೇವಾಲಯದ ಕುರಿತಾಗಿ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖವಿರುವ ಆರು ಶಾಸನಗಳಿವೆ. 
ಆಯುಕ್ತರು ಪ್ರಾಚ್ಯವಸ್ತು ಸಂಗ್ರಹಾಲಯಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಪರಂಪರೆ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಮೈಸೂರು

Sri Lakshminarasimha temple, Javagal, Arasikere,
the Lakshminarasimha temple is a triple-shrined temple built by Hoyasala King Vishnuvardhana. It houses the sculpture of Kesava in the main shrine, Gopala to the right and Lakshminarasimha to the left shrines. Although placed in a subsidiary shrine, Lakshminarasimha is regarded as the main deity this Vishnu temple comprises figures of Ganesha and Mahishamardini in the niches by the side of the main shrine. The Mukhamantapa, the granite Mahadvara and the Lakshmi temple constitute the additions of the main temple. The Navaranga doorway bears on its lintel, Dvarapalas and Kalimardana the south cell contains a 6 feet high statue of Venugopala, while the north cell has the idol of Lakshminarasimha on a Garuda pedestal, with Garuda carved in front. The sanctum has a lotus dome carved out of a single slab. The image of Vishnu as Sridhara stands on a pedestal with Garuda carved in front. The Mahadvara about 18 feet heigh and 7 feet wide, made up of granite slabs is typical of Vijaynagara period construction. There are six inscriptions about the temple.
Commissioner Dept. of Archaeology Museums & Heritage, Mysore

This is the Mukhamantapa, meaning the porch. Portions of this temple have been restored, for example the balustrade flanking the steps seem to be quite recent. The two idols flanking the entrance are the doorkeepers Jaya and Vijaya.

The temple Archaka, a young man clad in traditional attire did Arti and offered it to us. We got good Darshan of all three deities. Here I have to mention that the locality in front of the temple seems like an Agrahara, a community of Brahmin families. Agrahara is where Vedic traditions are taught and practiced. This reminded me of the Agrahara at Turuvekere which is known for Hoysala temples like Gangadhareshwara, Chennigaraya Swamy, Moole Shankareshwara and Beteraya Swamy.

Photography inside is banned in most temples. However, I was let to take pictures as long as I didn't take pictures of the deities. Here are two pictures just to give an idea of the interior.

A view of the central dome. It's a three tier dome with spokes projecting out from the hub. This piece of complicated artwork is not there just for decoration. Surely it has some function like concentrating cosmic energy.

Stepping out, we go around the temple. According to one source, the external walls have 140 wall panel sculptures. There are 24 different forms of Narayana each having four arms (Chaturbhuja) holding Shankha, Chakra, Gada and Padma (conch, wheel, mace and lotus). The notable ones are Lakshminarasimha, Ugranarasimha, Rama & Lakshmana, Badrinarayana, Govardhana Giridhar and Anantapadmanabha. Also there are idols of Ganesha, Brahma and Saraswati.

LakshmiNarasimha | Narayana

Varaha Avatar

Goverdhana Giridhari | Vamana Avatar

Lakshminarayana

Narayana | Brahma

Saraswati | Garuda

Ugranarasimha | Garuda | Narayana

Anantapadmanabha

Next is a collage of two interesting sculptures. On the left is a six armed form of Vishnu holding Shankha, Chakra, sword, shield, Japamala and a container like object. I'm guessing this is Mohini holding nectar. The other image shows two characters. On the left is a woman holding on to a serpent, seemingly a cobra. On the right is a voluptuous woman wearing sandals and holding a serpent. These two could be Vishakanya.

Another interesting sculpture is the four armed female form holding a Trident & Damaru in the rear hands. In the front right hand was a sword which is missing and in the left hand is a severed head. This could be Kali, the female counterpart of Shiva.

Lastly, we have Natya Ganapati. And, that's Sridhar known for his handlebar mushtache.

One must spend a lot of time here and study the images closely. There's so much to learn about Hindu culture from these sculptures.

Lastly, a closer look at the Mantapa next to the Mahadwara. This little structure is so much like the one at Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Devastana, Arasikere.

A board in front of the temple gives timings for those who wish to get darshan:

ದರ್ಶನ ಸಮಯ

ಸೋಮ, ಭುದ, ಗುರು, ಶುಕ್ರ, ಭಾನುವಾರ ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ 8 ರಿಂದ 11 ಗಂಟೆವರೆಗೆ 

ಮಂಗಳ, ಶನಿವಾರ ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ 8 ರಿಂದ ಮಧ್ಯಾನಃ 1 ಗಂಟೆವರೆಗೆ

 

Temple hours

8AM to 11AM on Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri & Sundays

8AM to 1PM on Tue & Saturdays

Done with Javagal, we head towards Belawadi to see Sri Veeranarayana Swamy Devastana.

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Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Devastana, Arsikere

After spending 45 minutes at Sri Chandramouleshwara Devastana, we got directions for Chikka Tirupati which is just a couple of kilometers outside the town. We drove around the enclosure and reached the front where a towering Gopura stood majestically. Until now I was under the assumption that the temple was atop the hill. That's the moment I learned about Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Devastana.

Being a Tuesday, the place was uncrowded, all streets around the temple were empty and tidy. It feels good to visit a temple like this. People seen were mostly residents here and a few students. At the moment, it looked like we were the only visitors. It's needless to say that this place would be teeming with people on Saturdays, Sundays, special days like Ekadasi and festivals.

Seen here are the following: an ancient mantapa, Tulabaara pillars and five tier Gopura. Also, in the vicinity and out of sight are two more Mantapas, both ancient structures. Then there's a Kalyani close by.

We enter the temple, we were the only two visitors at the moment. The Archaka performed Arati and we got a long darshan of the lord. We exited the temple and started the Pradakshina. As you see the temple has ample open space around it. In fact a pillared shelter runs along the perimeter wall like all big temples in southern India. Close to the entrance here, there was a Kalyana Mantapa where a family was participating in a ritual performed by two or three Archakas.

Another view of the Gopura.

This is definitely an ancient shrine, however the structure has undergone renovation recently. There's not much information of this temple online but the temple atop the hill was constructed by a local chieftain Palegar Thimmapanayaka during Hoysala times. In the background is Malekallu Gudda atop which is Venkateshwara shrine. Apparently the temple below was built later so that Rathothsava and other festivals could be carried out conveniently.

Idols of Anjaneya and Garuda in the pillared shelter.

A slightly better view of Malekallu Gudda. Here we see two peaks. On the right hand side peak is Venkateshwara Devastana. From the base, one needs to climb 1300 steps to reach the hilltop temple which is open only on Saturdays between 6 AM and 12 noon. So remember this if you are planning a visit.

A closer view of the peak and temple complex.

On the northern side of the enclosure is this gateway called Vaikunta Dwara. On certain festivals like Vaikunta Ekadasi, or even any normal day, people consider passing through the Vaikunta Dwara Mantapa a sacred act.

The northeastern view of the Gopura.

The pillars of the porch are ancient, probably installed during Hoysala times. Around this time we saw a married couple enter the temple, they seem to the only visitors other than Sridar & I. We sat besides the Gopura for a few minutes soaking in the silence of the place.

These are the two Mantapas. The closer one, going by its turned pillars, is definitely Hoysala architecture. Mantapa in the background seems like relatively recent, probably built during Vijayanagara times.

A stone's throw from the Mantapas is this water tank meant for bathing.. a holy dip.

This tank is quite interesting with a Mantapa at its center. The fish head popping out is a nice touch.

The place was well kept. Whoever's in charge is doing a good job. I wish people cooperate with temple management in upkeeping cleanliness.

Time to move on since we had to visit three more places- Javagal, Belawadi and Arakere. All these places were known for beautiful Hoysala temples. Also, we wanted to complete the temple tour and return home at Bhogasandra before sunset.

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