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Amrutesvara Temple / Amrutapura Temple:

The Amrutesvara temple, also known by its alternate spellings “Amrutesvara” and “Amruteshwara,” is situated in the village of Amruthapura, 67 km north of the town of Chikmagalur in the Chikkamagaluru district of the Indian state of Karnataka. The Amrutesvara temple is what makes Amruthapura famous. Amrutheshwara Dandanayaka under Hoysala King Veera Ballala II constructed the temple in 1196 CE.

Amruthapura Temple History & Architecture:

Amrutheshwara Dandanayaka, a “commander” in Hoysala King Veera Ballala II’s court, constructed the temple in 1196 CE.The temple has a large, open mantapa (hall) and was constructed using Hoysala architecture. The exterior of the temple boasts unusual, evenly spaced circular sculptures. The temple is an ekakuta design with a single vimana (shrine and tower) and a closed mantapa (hall) connecting the sanctum to the substantial open mantapa.

It is a medium-sized Hoysala temple with certain vastu characteristics that are comparable to the mantapa size and structure of the Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi. The closed mantapa has nine bays and a side porch leading to a separate shrine on the south side, whereas the open mantapa has twenty-nine bays . The shrine’s original superstructure (shikhara), which is square in shape and includes Kirtimukhas (devil faces) and miniature decorative towers (aedicule) as ornaments, is square in shape. The panel of Hindu gods that is typically found below the superstructure is missing. Five mouldings can be seen at the foot of the wall, which Foekema, an art critic, describes as being in “older Hoysala style.”The ancient Hoysala insignia of “Sala” fighting the lion may be seen on the sukanasi, the tower on top of the vestibule that connects the sanctuary to the closed mantapa (the sukanasi resembles the nose of the superstructure).

The mantapa’s ceiling is supported by rows of gleaming, lathe-turned pillars, which is a Hoysala-Chalukya decorative idiom.The interior ceilings of the mantapa’s many deeply domed structures are decorated with flowery patterns. There are a total of 140 panel sculptures depicting scenes from Hindu epics on the open mantapa’s outside parapet wall. These panels are noticeably larger than those found in many Hoysala temples, which have tiny panels and little carvings. The Ramayana is depicted on the south side wall in seventy panels, with the narrative moving in an anticlockwise orientation, which is highly unique. All of the figures on the north side wall are clockwise, which is typical of Hoysala architectural articulation.