Continuing in my series on the Hoysala Temples from the initial blog, this follow-up post covers the Lakshmi Devi Temple at Doddagaddavalli. 

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The next day morning we were at the beautiful Lakshmi Devi Temple, Doddagaddavalli. It is situated adjacent to a serene lake and is one of the oldest surviving Hoysala temples, having been completed in 1116 CE built by King Vishnuvardhana. Another hidden wonder of India about which I had not even heard of previously. It has an interesting history behind its construction, having been commissioned by a merchant Kullahana Rahuta and his wife Sahaja Devi. The temple is based on a unique chatuskuta design (having four shrines and towers).

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The entrance of the temple, through an ornate stone gateway with lathe-turned pillars, is from the east with walls that have perforations or lattice-like structure for the passage of air and light.

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Another unusual feature of the temple is the existence of four minor shrines at each corner of the temple complex with two sides of each shrine attached to the courtyard wall. Each of these minor shrines has its own tower, kalasa and Hoysala emblem. In all, the temple complex has nine towers which is unusual for a Hoysala temple.

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The four shrines dedicated to Kali, Lakshmi, Shiva and Vishnu in the four cardinal directions and of the four towers, three are undecorated and they look stepped pyramidal with a pile of dented horizontal mouldings with the kalasa on top. What is interesting is that you can find both Shaiva and Vaishnava deities.

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The ceiling of the main hall is supported by eighteen lathe-turned pillars. Inside the main hall, there are two sculptures of large demonic living corpses called betala. 

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A unique aspect of the temple is the shrine, in the north, dedicated to Shantaswarupa Kali, flanked by Shakini and Dakini, unlike other Hoysala temples that are mostly dedicated to either Vishnu or Shiva. There are also sculptures of Nagakanya, Vishkanya, and Betala, usually not found in Hoysala temples.

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The main shrine facing east has a 3-foot-tall image of Lakshmi with an attendant on either side. She holds a conch, a chakra, a mala (rosary) and a mace. The toran has six Vetalas dancing along with Nagakanya and Vishkanya on the outer walls of the garbhagriha, which opens directly to a mantapa. On each side are two big images of Kalika bodyguards. The presence of this structure shows the influence of the tantra cult in the construction of the temple.

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In the shrines facing north, south and west respectively are the murtis of Kali (a form of Durga), Vishnu, and Boothanatha Linga (the universal symbol of Shiva).

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A sculpture of Tandaveswara (dancing Shiva) exists in the circular panel at the centre of the ceiling of the mantapa. Yoganarasimha (avatars of Vishnu) are found on the doorway of the temple.

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The richly carved ceilings show Shiva doing Rudra Tandav and playing Rudra Veena. Other circular images include Indra riding Airavat (four tusked white elephant), Indrani (Indra’s consort), Agni, Varuna, Nirutta and Yama riding their respective vahanas.

The temple has the “older style” of Hoysala architecture, where there is only one eave running around the temple where the main towers meet the wall of the shrine. At the base of the wall of the shrines are five mouldings; between the mouldings and the eaves, the usual panels of Hoysala sculptures depicting gods, goddesses and their attendants are however missing. Instead, the entire space is taken up by decorative miniature towers on pilasters (called Aedicula).

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The village of Doddagaddavalli is on the Hassan – Belur highway, about 16 km from Hassan. The temple is truly one of Hoysala’s lesser known jewels and for its stature and importance, it is relatively unknown in the tourism circuit of Karnataka. Definitely a must-see for anyone planning on visiting the temples of Karnataka.

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The photographs bring out the richness of the sculptures and unique architecture of the temple.

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My blog of the other Hoysala temples I visited can be seen at:

1. Chandramouleswara Temple, Arasikere
2. Amrutheshwara Temple, Amruthapura
3. Sri Veera Narayana Swamy Temple, Belavadi
4. Hoysaleshwar Temple, Halebidu
5. Kedareshwara Temple, Halebidu
6. Parshvanatha Jain Temple, Halebidu
7. Chennakeshava Temple, Belur
8. Chennakeshava Temple, Arakere
9. Sri Lakshmi Narsimha Temple, Javagal

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Note: All photographs displayed above are my exclusive property and copyright; their use is prohibited without explicit consent, in writing.