Chennakesava Temple, Arakere, Karnataka

Chennakesava Temple, Arakere, Karnataka

Chennakesava Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in Arakere Village in Arasikere Taluk in Hassan District in the Indian state of Karnataka. The temple is situated on the banks of Arakere lake. This temple is considered as one of the lesser known Hoysala temples of Karnataka.

History

The temple is believed to be built in 13^th century CE by the Hoysalas. The temple is a protected monument under the Karnataka state division of the Archaeological Survey of India.

The Temple

The temple is facing towards east with a mahadvara. The temple is constructed in trikutachala style, consisting of three shrines, one each on north, south and west. The western shrine houses Chennakesava, northern shrine houses Lakshmi Narasimha and southern shrine houses Venugopala. The western shrine connects to the navaranga via vestibule while the other two shrines connects directly to the navaranga.

The navaranga connects to the entrance porch on the eastern side. The entrance porch has not survived except its basement and short pillars. The central shrine (western shrine) is the most prominent one. The superstructure over the sanctum is of stepped pyramidal style (Kadamba Nagara). The vestibule has a superstructure called sukhanasi. It looks like a shorter extension of the main tower.

The temple has an adhisthana with conventional mouldings. The eaves runs around the sanctum where the superstructure meets the wall of the shrine. The eaves projects about half a meter from the wall. The exterior of the temple is decorated with sculptures of various aspects of Lord Vishnu and dancers. The pilasters and turrets can be seen in between the sculptures. There is a large inscriptional slab to the left of the entrance.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 4 Kms from Banavara Railway Station, 6 Kms from Banavara, 6 Kms from Banavara Railway Station, 13 Kms from Javagal, 21 Kms from Arasikere, 25 Kms from Halebeedu, 30 Kms from Kadur, 41 Kms from Belur, 50 Kms from Hassan, 197 Kms from Bengaluru and 218 Kms from Bengaluru Airport. The temple is situated on Banavara to Belur route (NH – 73).

Location