Temple

The Chennakeshava Temple originally called Vijayanarayana Temple was built on the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur, by the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana. Belur, which was an early Hoysala capital, is in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It is 40 km from Hassan city and 220 km from Bangalore. Chennakesava (which means "handsome Kesava") is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. The temple was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 AD.

Legend

Scholars are divided about the reasons for the construction of the temple. The military successes of Vishnuvardhana is considered a probable reason. Some scholars believe Vishnuvardhana commissioned the temple to surpass his overlord, King Vikramaditya VI of the Western Chalukya Empire, after his initial military victories against the Chalukyas. According to another theory, Vishnuvardhana was celebrating his famous victory against the Chola dynasty of Tamil country in the battle of Talakad (1116 AD), which resulted in the annexation of Gangavadi (modern southern Karnataka) by the Hoysalas. Another theory points to Vishnuvardhana's conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism after coming under the influence of saint Ramanujacharya, considering this is a predominantly Vaishnava temple in sculptural iconography.

Architecture

The main entrance to the temple complex is crowned by a Rajagopura. Within the complex, the Chennakesava temple is at the centre, facing east, and is flanked by the Kappe Channigraya temple on its right and Sowmyanayaki (Goddess Lakshmi) temple set slightly back. On its left, also set slightly back is the Ranganayaki (Andal) temple. Two main sthambha (pillar) exist here. The pillar facing the main temple, the Garuda (eagle) sthambha was erected in the Vijayanagar period while the pillar on the right, the Deepa sthambha (pillar with lamp) dates from the Hoysala period. The Chennakesava temple has three entrances and their doorways have decorated dvarapalaka on either side. The building material used in the Chennakesava temple is chloritic schist or soapstone and is essentially a simple Hoysala plan built with extraordinary detail. A large vestibule connects the shrine to the mandapa (hall) which is one of the main attractions of the temple.

Picture Courtesy : commons.wikimedia.org

Darsan Info

Temple timings : 7:30 AM to 1:00 P.M and 2.30 PM to 7.30 PM

Darsan Dresscode

There is no special dress code though traditional wear is preferred on festive days.

Famous Festival

Paush purinma
Duserra
Makara sankranthi

Culture

Hassan largely has a folk culture, whose traditions are still practiced today in the city. The cuisine of Hassan is a combination of Kodagu, Dakshina, Kannada, and Mysore regions, owing to its proximity to those regions.

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Temple Rituals

Morning Pooja and Harathi at 7:30 A.M daily.
Different types of archana and sevas are held on temple at 8:00 A.M onward.

Special Rituals

King Vishnuvardhana is said to have dreamt about Lord Keshava during his night stay at the Baba Budan forest and decided to construct the Channa Keshava temple at Belur. But, he unwittingly separated the lord from his consort living on the baba Budan Hill. It is believed that the lord regularly travels to the hills for meeting his consort. Thus the local cobbler community presents a pair of fresh sandals everyday at the alter of the shrine. Locals believe that the sandals get disappeared after after being presented the Lord.

Additional Info