Amrutesvara Temple, Amruthapura – The Temple
This Temple is facing towards east. It is an ekakuta shrine (single shrine with a superstructure). The temple has an original outer wall with unique equally spaced circular carvings. The temple consists of sanctum, antrala, navaranga with an entrance porch on its southern side and mukha mandapa with entrances on its three sides.
The mukha mandapa has 29 bays out of which 25 are equal bays in the hall and the rest 4 bays are projecting out on each side. The external wall of the mukha mandapa are carved with several miniature shikaras. It also has miniature carvings depicting the legends of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Krishna Leela. The mukha mandapa in the east side is extended into a pillared sabha mandapa.
The sabha mandapa is the most ornate part of this temple. The ceilings are decorated with floral motifs. The mandapa also houses panels depicting the legends of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. Shrine for Goddess Saraswathi can be seen on the southern side of sabha mandapa. The entrance of the navaranga is guarded by dvarapalas. It has nine bays of equal size.
The ceilings are decorated with Ashta Dikpalakas, Ganesha, Shiva, Kartikeya, Venugopala, Brahma and different geometrical & floral designs. Idols of Ganesha, Kartikeya, Saptamatrikas, Nagas, Veerabhadra, Vishnu and Shiva can be seen in the Navaranga. The sukanasi has a carved image of Gajasamharamoorthy and royal emblem of Sala slaying the lion can be seen on the top of the sukanasi. The lintel of the antrala has a carving of Nataraja accompanied by Brahma and Vishnu.
The sanctum is square on plan. The sanctum houses the presiding deity, Amrutesvara, in the form of Shiva Linga. The idol of Sharadha Devi can be seen next to the Linga. The shikara over the sanctum is of seven tiers and follows vesara style. The shikara is adorned with sculptures of Kirtimukhas. The miniature decorative towers can be seen below shikara on the exterior walls of the sanctum instead of the niche images.
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