27th
January 2019.
After the Basaralu Mallikarjuna
Temple’s Visit, our next destination was Nagamangala. It was planned to visit the Perumal and Shiva temples built by the Hoysala
dynasty. Nagamangala was a Vaishnava center and received patronage since the
time of Vishnuvardhana (1116 CE). During the period of Veera Ballala-II, Nagamangala was developed into an
agrahara called “Vira Ballala Chaturvedi Bhattaratnakara”.
Presiding deity:
Sri Saumyakesava Perumal
The salient features
of this temple are…
The temple faces east with a 7-tier Rajagopuram, without many stucco images. A Garuda thoon /
Gamba is in front. Plaipeda and Dwajasthambam are immediately after the
Rajagopuram. The sanctum sanctorum consists of
3 sanctums / garbhagriha, antarala, a common navrang / ardha mandapa, and a large pillared maha mandapa. The Navrang has two shrines on the north and South. On the east side, the
maha mandapa opens to jagathy. The temple structure is constructed with soapstone, raised on a 4-foot jagati with the conventional moldings is stellate in
the area of sanctum, and indented
in the region of maha mandapa.
The temple is built on the jagati leaving a space
of 6 feet all around which serves as a circumambulatory passage. The western vimana is star-shaped while north and
south there are no vimanas. The conventional moldings of adhisthana, a single
pilastered turreted wall, is a beautiful hiking carving that retains its majesty. There
no images like Basaralu Mallikarjuna Temple. The western main sanctum faces east
and the image of the presiding deity Kesava, is completely covered with alangara (flower decoration), six feet tall, and stands on a garuda pedestal. It is
well-sculptured and serene in expression, so it is called Saumyakshava. While the upper hands hold Sangu & Chakra, the lower hands are in Padma and Gada. The other two sanctums/garbhagriha have a Venugopala with Rukmini in the south and Lakshminarasimha in the north
respectively. These shrines are added at a later date. The pillars and
ceilings of the ardha mandapa/Narang are treated with varied and attractive
designs.
The total temple was
not constructed by the Hoysalas. Up to the sanctum was built by the Hoysalas and later north and south sanctums without vimanas,
maha mandapas, prahara walls cloistered all around, and a subsidiary shrine was added during the post-Vijayanagaras period. Ugra Narasimha,
the only sculpture is found on the central part of the southern wall of western
Vimana.
HISTORY & INSCRIPTION
The Temple has 13
inscriptions. As per the inscription this place was called as ViraBallala
Chaturvedi Bhattaratnakara agrahara. The earliest Hoysala inscription dated 1134 CE, refers to the renovation of the Sankaranarayana temple ( no such temple is
available now), done by Vishnuvardhana’s wife & Queen Bommala Devi.
The Ballala-II,
1171.CE, the inscription mentions a large
number of grants were made to an agrahara. Experts of the opinion that the
temple was built during Veera Ballala –II.
The 1329 CE,
inscription mentions a land was gifted to Chennakesava temple by Mallideva, an
officer of Hoysala Dynasty and his wife Channadevi.
The rest of the
inscriptions belong to the Vijayanagara period. One 15th-century inscription CE mentions about setting up
of a pillar for 4 gadyanas and another 16th-century inscription mentions a grant
during the Sadasivaraya period.
TEMPLE TIMINGS:
The temple will be
kept open between 07.00 hrs to 12.00 hrs and 17.00 hrs to 20.30 hrs.
HOW TO REACH:
The place Nagamangala
is about 68 km from Mysuru and 45 km
from Mandya.
LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK HERE
---OM SHIVAYA
NAMA---
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