Hoysala Expedition Part 4: Keshava Temple, Somanathapura

Last weekend marked a visit to Somanathapura, a village near Mysore, home to one of the most famous temples ever built under the reign of the Hoysalas. It is a prime example for the grandeur of the Hoysala style of architecture. The temple is known to have been built in 1268 AD, during the time of King Narasimha III, by his commander Soma. Mallithamma was the leading architect of the temple, which also had great contributions from Masanatamma, Bameya, Chameya, and other noted sculptors. This trikutachala temple is home to the deities of Keshava, Janardana and Venugopala, and the outer walls of the temple are adorned with tens of hundreds of neatly carved images.


With me on this trip was Karthik, who has been equally fascinated by the historical and the architectural aspects of the Hoysala temples, and the best part was that we did not know how to reach Somanathapura until we got down there! Now that we have been there, if you are relying on the public transport, the best route to reach Somanathapura from Bangalore would be to go to Mandya, from there to Bannur (around 30 kms) and from there take the buses that go towards Tirumakudalu Narasipura. Somanathapura is 7 kms on this route.

Well, here is a compilation of some of the pictures I could take during the visit:


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Comments

Unknown said…
Hi Prasanna,

Adbhutavagide!!!!
Adbhutavagide!!!!
Adbhutavagide!!!!

With best regards
Karthik DP
Prasanna said…
Thanks Karthik :)