A one day trip to Belur-Halebeedu!

A one day trip to Belur-Halebeedu!

 

Sometimes the plans we made earlier don't work, but suddenly many plans do. Our trip was one such plan. My mother wanted to visit Belur and Halebeedu with family while she visted when she was working in Hassan before her marriage.Amma, who claimed to go two or three times, did not go through with the plan because the holiday I and my younger brother were getting did not match. But one day suddenly, when Amma was talking to her close friend, the idea of ​​going to Belur-Halebidu flashed. The tour plan which started from there, was completed in talks when we got to Shri Mahalingeshwara temple with two days to spare. Thus preparing for the trip, it was decided to go yesterday i.e. Sunday.

On the first morning of the trip, when I told my mother that I was going to see the movie "The Kerala Story", the high command (mother) ordered me to bring all the necessities for tomorrow and go to the cinema again. In the morning, I brought all the necessities and went to see the movie. In the evening very close to my house there was a Yakshagana bayalata of prasanga(story) "Sinhadhwaja Kalaga-Sarpadhvara" by Kateelu Fifth Mela, so I went to see the Yakshagana and it was late Saturday night i.e. Sunday when my mother went back home! We woke up early in the morning, got ready and left Puttur via Uppinangadi, arranged for breakfast at Hotel Adithya in Uppinangadi and proceeded to Shiradi ghat.By eight o'clock in the morning, we stopped for breakfast near Arebetta of Shiradi Ghati and after breakfast, enjoying the beauty of nature, we proceeded towards Belur via Sakaleshpur.

 

 On reaching Belur, we visited Shri Chennakeshava temple enjoying the cool weather there. Chennakeshava Temple is a 12th century Hindu temple in Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. This temple was built by King Vishnuvardhana, a famous king of the Hoysala kingdom.Belur was once the capital of the Hoysala Kingdom. The temple complex consists of a 444.5 ft by 396 ft court, several Hindu shrines and smaller shrines within the walled enclosure. Chennakeshava Temple is the main temple where Lord "Chennakeshava(Vishnu)" is worshiped in the main sanctum.This temple is built in star shape.The building material used in the Chennakeshava temple is chloritic schist, commonly known as soapstone. Two eyes are not enough to see the marvellous carvings on the temple walls.

 

 

Each carving seems to uphold the glory of the past. Madanikas carvings are awe-inspiring to look at the carvings of many Hindu Gods. One will surely admire Jakanachari, the sculptor who carved the most beautiful idols with his single hand.At that time when Westerners were becoming literate, our Indians carved beautiful sculptures and wrote inscriptions. This is a matter of pride for every Indian. The Hoysalas employed many famous architects and craftsmen who developed a new architectural tradition.They carved many beautiful temples and idols. Art historian Adam Hardy calls it the Karnataka Dravidian tradition. We can see many temples built in this style. To the south of the Chennakeshava Temple is the Kappe Chennigaraya Temple which is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Next to it there are Soumyanayaki Temple, Vahana Mantapa on the west side, Andal (Ranganayaki) Temples on the north side. When I went yesterday, I only got a chance to go to the Soumyanayaki Temple.Seeing the beauty of the Chennakeshava Temple's artwork, while learning the history, I started thinking about what the past glory of the Hoysala Kingdom might have been like. Seeing everything like this, we left there and headed towards Halebeedu. On the way, we visited the Yagachi dam built across the Yagachi river. After reaching Halebeedu, we went to Shri Hoysaleshwara temple.



 

 

Halebeedu was earlier known as Dwarasamudra. It is the capital of the Hoysala Kingdom. The Hoysaleshwara Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Shankara and is said to have been built by King Vishnuvardhana's Chief of Staff Ketamalla in 1121. During Vishnuvardhana's time, art and sculpture were greatly encouraged.His queen Shanthale was a famous Bharatanatyam dancer and known to have an interest in sculpture. According to some sources, it is said that Vishnuvardhana built the Chennakeshava temple at Belur to fulfill Shanthale's wish.Like the Chennakeshava temple in Belur, the Hoysaleshwara temple is made of soapstone. The temple has four doors, two on the east side and one door each on the north-south side. The distance from the north door to the south is 160 feet. It is 122 feet long from east to west (up to the sanctum wall). There are about 108 pillars inside the temple and each pillar has a different image.Each pillar is made of five stones and is referred to in inscriptions as 'Panchashila Sthambha'. The temple, which consists of two sanctums, has another sanctum sanctorum called Shantaleshwara or Pandukeshwara along with the Hoysaleshwara sanctum sanctorum established in the name of the royal dynasty.Two large idols of Nandi, Lord Shiva's vehicle, are enshrined infront of the two sanctums. "Dwarasamudra" lake is located near this temple.


 

 

After seeing the beauty of the Hoysaleshwara temple, we had darshan of the Lord and had lunch at a nearby hotel called Mango Tree. Very tasty food is served in this hotel. You can definitely go here for lunch when you come to Halebeedu. After lunch we went sailing in Dwarasamudra Lake.If you start from Hoysaleshwara temple and proceed towards Dwarasamudra Lake near Hoysala circle of Halebeedu Junction, you can go on a boat riding by Hoysala Boating for a fixed fee. After sailing we left for Belavadi.

We visited the Veeranarayana temple in Belavadi and were amazed to see the architecture there. By the time we went to the Veeranarayana temple, it was already afternoon, so the temples were closed. According to the available information, Veeranarayana temple was built in two phases and was initially built in 1117 AD during the reign of King Veera Ballala II, then King Narasimha Ballala expanded it again. It is said that Gopalakrishna sanctum and Yoganarasimha sanctum were built in 1200 AD.The 270 feet long temple consists of three separate square sanctums with their own vimana gopuram and connected by an exceptionally large square rangamantapa (103 feet). The main temple faces east and enshrines the deity Veeranarayana(Vishnu).Gopalakrishna is enshrined in the north-facing shrine, while Yoganarasimha is enshrined in the south-facing shrine. Each of the three temples has a complete superstructure (a tower atop the temple) and is one of the largest temples built by the Hoysala kings.While the famous temples at Belur and Halebeedu are known for their intricate sculptures, this temple is known for its architecture. The Gopalakrishna and Yoganarasimha temples face each other and are on either side of a vast and spacious open mantapa (hall) consisting of thirty-seven bays. Opposite the main entrance of the Veeranarayana temple building, there are beautiful carvings of double-headed elephants on both sides.They are still in proper position and appear to be pulling the entire temple like a chariot with their legs bent by the pressure of their bodies. Another thing I noticed is that the sitting area in the mandapams here has a wooden board shape carved to play the game of chennemane (called alaguli mane in Kannada) or some other game.After seeing the architectural beauty of the temple, we bowed to all the deities and then went to the Udbhava Ganapati temple which is behind there. Since the temple was closed in the afternoon, we took round(pradakshina) of the temple from outside and left there. As such, the administration of these two temples is currently being done by the Sringeri Shri Sharada Peetha.

After leaving there we got ready to return to Puttur. I wanted to come to Charmadi Ghat, so we took NH 173 from Belavadi via Chikkamagalur, joined NH 73 at Mudigere and reached Charmadi Ghat via Kottigehara.As if we were lucky yesterday, even though it was Sunday, there was less traffic on the ghat. Thus, watching the enchanting beauty of the Ghat, we reached the view point of Charmadi Ghat and for a while we gazed at the beauty of nature. As I noticed there, passengers coming to the ghat or those going the same way are throwing garbage without any concern for the environment.If the beauty is hidden in his body, man is distorting and destroying the beautiful form of nature. There is a mess everywhere!It is our duty to preserve the beauty and cleanliness of nature. So I request you to please follow it. After spending 15-20 minutes at the ghat, we descended from there and reached Puttur again at night. I did not know how quickly that trip was over. All in all, our Belur-Halebeedu trip was very enjoyable.

🖊Written by:Shreekara B


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