Hoysala Expedition Part 3: Panchalingeshwara Temple, Govindanahalli

On the same day as my Kikkeri Brahmeshwara Temple visit, I had visited this huge and attractive Panchalingeshwara Temple, situated just 5 kms away from the town of Kikkeri. The village that is host to this majestic temple is Govindanahalli, which also belongs to Mandya district, and seems to be lost from all the modernization that the rest of the world has seen. This 1237 AD Hoysala temple is built on the outskirts of this small village, surrounded by large paddy fields and coconut plantations, adding to its ageless beauty.


The temple is dedicated to the 5 aspects or facets of Lord Shiva, which are, Sadyojata (for the western direction), Vamadeva (for the northern direction), Aghora (for the southern direction), Tatpurusha (for the eastern direction), and Ishana (for the skywards direction). Each of these 5 aspects of Shiva have a separate sanctum sanctorum of their own, and each of them are connected through one enormously elongated Navaranga. Inside this large hall, one can see multiple sculptures of Ganesha, Nandi, Subrahmanya and Mahishasura Mardini, each of which are extremely beautiful. Outer walls of the temple have carvings of a number of deities including the 24 aspects and 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

It is probably a blessing in disguise that there is very little publicity about this temple, as a visit to this place would give you a few hours of guaranteed bliss.

Here is a compilation of some of the pictures I took at the Panchalingeshwara Temple:



Panchalingeshwara Temple, Govindanahalli from hmvprasanna on Vimeo.


Similar Stories:
1. Lakshmi Devi Temple, Doddagaddavalli
2. Brahmeshwara Temple, Kikkeri

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