The city of Dwarasamudra that once encompassed Bennegudda was built by the kings of thousand-year old Hoysala Kingdom. The Hoysala dynasty came into existence in a time when the Chalukya Kings dominated the northern parts of Karnataka, while a struggle was on between the Cholas and Gangas for dominion in the south. The ancestors of the Hoysalas joined hands with the Gangas in the war against Cholas, and eventually built their own kingdom on the edge of Malnad region. They established their capital at Dwarasamudra in later half of eleventh century, now called Halebeedu. Their kingdom spread as far as Madurai in south and Lakkundi in the north as they grew stronger over generations. In the days of their prime, Vishnuvardhana, the Hoysala king who ruled in the first half of twelfth century, defeated the Cholas in Talakadu and supported construction of ornate temples of stone all along his kingdom. Many of these temples have survived even today as the evidence of a time when craft of carving excelled.

The Hoysaleshwara temple in Halebeedu is one of the finest examples of their architecture. The two shrines in the star shaped temple are dedicated to Hoysaleshwara and Shantalaeshwara, named after the king and the queen. Heavily decorated outer walls have eleven layers of friezes at the bottom, with rows of distinctly carved elephants, lions, horses, the mythical creature makara and stories from the puranas. One of those stories shows the gods and demons churning the ocean using Serpant Vasuki coiled around the mountain of Manadara. In another sculpture, Bheema is depicted going to after the enemy troupes in the war of Kurukshetra, killing elephants and piling them up on his way. Above the friezes are four-feet high statues of gods and goddesses carved to such a precision that even fingernails, teeth and lines on the hands can be identified clearly.

The best sculptures are seen on the south door of the temple, which was used by the king and the royal family. The door keepers here are framed to a fine detail, with every bead in their ornament highlighted distinctly. To the east are two Nandi Mantapas, each of them facing a deity of the temple. The Nandis are the sixth and seventh largest statues of the bull in the country.

South of Hoysaleshwara temple is the smaller Kedareshwara temple, which shares architectural elements with its neighbour. While the former is buzzing with activity of tour groups and guides, Kedareshwara Temple has a deserted calm, allowing the visitor to explore at one’s own pace.

On the way to Kedareshwara Temple is Bastihalli, a small hamlet that houses three Jain Temples dating back to the days of King Vishnuvardhana. The highlight of Parshwanatha Basadi, the largest of the three, is a mantapa with an array thick cylindrical pillars. Inside the temple is a 16-feet high statue of Parswanatha standing in the shade of a five headed serpent. The roof of the main hall hosts small statues of the twenty four tirthankaras. Besides Parshwanatha Basadi are two other temples dedicated to Shantinatha and Adinatha.

Located just below Bennegudda are the ruins of the old city, littered with broken remains of carved rocks. It is an Archeological Survey site that hosts remains of three temples, of which only the pedestals and some friezes have survived. However, the carved mass of rocks littering the area around the temple is an evidence of the glory days that the kingdom had once witnessed. Today, creepers have grown over the rocks that were once caressed by the hands of the sculptor.

With their vast empire and rich architecture, the stories of Hoysala kings have become an important part of our history. Here in Halebeedu, every corner has something to remind us of the grand days of the great kingdom.

Getting There

Regular buses connecting Bangalore with Chikmaglur stop at Belur. Halebeedu is 15km from Belur, and can be reached with the help of local buses or auto rickshaw. If you are driving, drive past Hassan on Belur road till you reach Hagare Village. Turn right at Hagare and drive for another 7km to reach Halebeedu.

For more details, log on to www.travelwise.in for the Hoysala Trail

We were in Malenadu or the hilly regions of Karnataka looking for a humble beginning of a dynasty which had ruled this region more than thousand years ago. This was not a pleasure trip, but a journey that took us down eons of history , a quest in search of folklores and myths that gave an identity to the Hoysala Dynasty .Our destination was Angadi, a small hamlet lost in the hills of Karnataka, enveloped by coffee plantations and lush green fields.

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

We stopped by at a small town, Janapura to have some tea and take in the fresh air.The directions were loud and clear. Angadi was a further 6 kms away. In about ten minutes we were there. A small village with a few houses scattered here and there , a couple of shops, a lone bus stand and green fields. At first glance, it looked like just another hamlet lost to the world. And yet, it was the cradle of a dynasty that built beautiful temples and made several conquests . However to our eyes, there was nothing historic about it. And then we took a short stroll, wondering if we had indeed come to the right village. To prove us right, stood a faded old relic under the shade of a tree ..a Hoysala inscription . We were indeed on the right track.

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Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

Angadi in Kannada means shop, but we hardly found any shops around . Surrounded by coffee plantations and open fields, it seemed to be a sleepy market . We finally found a small shop and asked them the route to the “ Devasthanam “. A couple of hands pointed uphill which took us through a coffee plantation which led to mud roads which split into two. There was not a soul around. We followed the road going upward and encountered steep hairpin bends which curved through the coffee plantations and led us to the Durga or the Vasantha Parameshwari temple . And this was the setting of the origins of the Dynasty. It took us to a scene enacted thousand years ago.

Hoy Sala ” ( Strike Sala ! ) said the guru Sudatta Muni to his student , Sala who was in an armed combat with a tiger . The beast had just attacked the duo who were immersed in rituals at a Durga or Vasantha Parameshwari temple in a village called Sasakapura or Sosevur. The student struck the animal in one blow, immortalizing himself and his victim . The guru was so pleased that he asked Sala to establish a kingdom and the Hoysala dynasty was established with Sosevur as the capital . The folklore became so popular that every temple of the Hoysalas has this story carved in stone and it became the royal emblem of the dynasty. Historians however do not accept this myth as they attribute the sculpture to the victory of the Hoysalas over the Cholas . The incident , nevertheless is believed to have happenned at Sasakapura or Sosevur which is today identified as Angadi, a small hamlet in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka. The temple of the Goddess , along with the ruins of more temples and Jain basadis is the only proof of this myth .

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

The Hoysalas were not born kings but they ruled for 300 years . They were natives of Malnad, Karnataka and were tribal chiefs who were subordinates of the Western Chalukyas. Some inscriptions show them as lords of the Male (hills) while some indicate that they were descendants of the Yadava clan. Historically though the first Hoysala family record is dated 950 and names Arekalla as the chieftain, followed by Maruga and Nripa Kama I (976) .

But the kings who shaped the dynasties were Vishnuvardhan and Veera Bhallalla who became independent from the Chalukyas . They are remembered today for their patronage to arts along with their exploits on the battlefield – a baffling 1500 temples built in 958 centres, of which the two famous ones are Belur and Halebid which were the capital cities of the dynasty. However, hardly a 100 survive today. Our trail had taken us down to 25 villages including Angadi , the original capital of the empire, where it all began.

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

The Durga temple was renovated and was well maintained . It did not look like a typical Hoysala temple either , going by their style . A tall structure supported by pillars with sculptures stood close by. The priest explained to us that the temple, which has been renovated recently was the original temple where Sala had killed the legendary tiger. The pillars he said were used as a swing to cradle the Gods during festivals. I had read that there was the ruins of a Chennakesava temple here similar to the Belur temple . We asked him where the ruins were and he told us to go down and follow the roads below . We were told that there were three temples as well as Jain basadis .

The priest guided us and we followed the road until we came to almost a dead end. There seemed to be a rugged path above as we climbed on the rocks that led us inside the coffee plantation. We saw a few basadis with some sculptures inside while a few were left wide in the open. It was silent except for some parakeets which were shrieking in excitement. We almost thought the place was to ourselves when we heard some voices . We squinted through the trees and found some workers. We went down and climbed another path where the ruins of the three temples awaited us .

Pic : Lakshmi Sharath

The Chennakesava temple , along with Patalarudeshwara and Mallikarjuna lay absolutely in ruins.The structures were being laid by the ASI workers who had just begun restoring these temples. The idols and sculptures were kept safely, especially the Chennakesava which stood in all its glory in the glare of the setting sun. As the sun touched down, we sat a while on the broken pillars gazing at the strewn idols and wondering about the times when a dynasty was laying its foundation stone in a small village. It dawned on us at that very moment, that we had just walked into a historic moment.

Getting there - Angadi is 18 kms from Mudigere and 25 kms away from Belur. The ideal route from Bangalore would be to reach Belur and take the Mudigere route . At Janapura, one needs to take a left and Angadi is 6 kms from the junction. You can also reach Angadi through Sakleshpur and Chikmagalur .

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