Hoysalas were master temple builders. They have built temples all around in southern Karnataka. The temples at Belooru, Halebeedu and Somanathapura are very well known. You’ll find a wealth of information about Hoysala’s temple architecture on the wikipedia, here and here.
However, what is not so well known is that there are several temples where the temple architecture does not typically look like a Hoysala work, but the idols inside looks like a Hoysala work of art. The temples of Keshva at Kowshika, and at Haasana, Varadaraja at Kondajji are examples for such temples.
The temples do not have the stamp of typical Hoysala architectures, but the main idols do. Were the temples built later on to house original Hoysala images? May be yes. Folk tales also say (at least with respect to the temple at Kondajji), that the idol was buried under sand to protect it from invaders, and temples were built later on when the images were unearthed.
Kowshika is a village about 8 km away from the Haasana, in the heart of southern Karnataka. It has a temple of Lakshmi Keshava. The temple is very simple in structure. As per the information on http://www.karnatakatemples.com, it is built in the Vijaya Nagara style. You can see the front view of the temple at the top of this blog today. It is also available on here .
Here are few pictures from Kowshika.
Lord Lakshmi Keshava:
A close up – Who doesn’t fall for such a beautiful smile?
Kowshika village as seen from the temple entrance:
Utsavamoorti of Lakshmi keshava getting ready for Garudotsava:
Here is the main idol, decorated in flowers, for a special occasion :
(Picture courtesy: The first three are mine; The last two are by Dr Shreekanth Murthy)
Why am I writing about Kowshika of all places, when there are so many Hoysala temples?
Because it is my ancestral village, and this is the place which I wrote about in some of my earlier posts, here and here.
-neelanjana
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ಆಗಷ್ಟ್ 3, 2009 at 4:46 ಅಪರಾಹ್ನ
ಒಲಿದೆ ಯಾತಕಮ್ಮ ಲಕುಮಿ ವಾಸುದೇವಗೆ? « ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ
[…] had the good fortune of witnessing the Kalyanotsava (Wedding celebration) of Lakshmi and Keshava at the Lakshmikeshava temple in Kowshika a few weeks ago. I could not help remember this song when the wedding of the divine couple was […]
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ಸೆಪ್ಟೆಂಬರ್ 23, 2009 at 10:55 ಫೂರ್ವಾಹ್ನ
A South Karnataka Slideshow « ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ
[…] places in southern Karnataka – Bengaluru, Srirangapattana, Ramanagara, Halebidu, Beluru, Kowshika, Sravana Belagola and Mavinakere – not listed in any specific order – and show creations all […]
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ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 1, 2009 at 12:04 ಅಪರಾಹ್ನ
ನಾಚಾರಾಂಬಾಂ ನಮಾಮ್ಯಹಂ « ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ
[…] Check out some more pictures from this temple here, and here. […]
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ಆಗಷ್ಟ್ 25, 2011 at 5:41 ಫೂರ್ವಾಹ್ನ
Rajeevalochana
Kowshika, nam uru, olleya dhevara photo nanna bali idge, dhaya madi nan number 9449399481, e numberge call madi – Dr. Rajeevalochana.
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ಮಾರ್ಚ್ 19, 2014 at 9:30 ಫೂರ್ವಾಹ್ನ
Shashikumara
I also belong to same village. My name is Shashikumara K V s/o Venkatesha K T(Budda). I am very glad th
at you have attached this god’s image over here. I wish you a happy life. Keep up these kinds of good work. I am very happy.
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ಮಾರ್ಚ್ 19, 2014 at 9:37 ಫೂರ್ವಾಹ್ನ
Shashikumara
Hi Rajeev, My mobile number is 9591030075. If you need any assistance from me for these kinds of work, I am always with you.
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