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{{short description|Shaiva temple at Davanagere, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Bhimeshvara Temple
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = kn
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Village
| image_skyline = Rear view of the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda.JPG
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Bhimeshvara temple (1075-1100 AD) at Nilagunda in [[Davangere district]]
| pushpin_map = India Karnataka
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| coordinates = {{coord|14|17|N|76|05|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Karnataka]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Davanagere district]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Taluks of Karnataka|Taluk]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Harpanahalli]]
| subdivision_type4 = [[List of Constituencies of the Lok Sabha|Lok Sabha Constituency]]
| subdivision_name4 = [[Davanagere]]
| established_title = 
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| unit_pref = Metric
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| population_as_of = 2001
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| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Kannada]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]]
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}}

The '''Bhimeshvara''' temple (also spelt '''Bhimesvara''' or '''Bhimeshwara''') is a temple in the town of Nilagunda (also spelt Neelagunda) in the [[Davangere district]] of [[Karnataka]] state, [[India]].

==Bhimeshvara Temple==
[[File:Lintel and door jamb relief in the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda.JPG|thumb|upright|Decorative lintel and door jamb at entrance to vestibule in the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda]]
[[File:Kirtimukha relief sculpture on tiered superstructure over shrine in the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda.JPG|thumb|upright|Kirtimukha relief sculpture on tiered superstructure over shrine in the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda]]

According to the [[Archaeological Survey of India]], the construction of the temple was undertaken in the last quarter of the 11th century during the rule of the [[Western Chalukyas]] (also known as Kalyani or Later Chalukyas) over the region.<ref name="Nilagunda">{{cite web|url=http://asibengalurucircle.org/davanagere-7.html|title=Bhimesvara Temple|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle|publisher=ASI Bengaluru Circle|accessdate=19 May 2015|archive-date=22 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522035604/http://asibengalurucircle.org/davanagere-7.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Art historian [[Adam Hardy (architectural historian)|Adam Hardy]] dates the temple to the 12th century and classifies the architectural style as "Later Chalukya, non-mainstream", with [[Hoysala architecture|Hoysala]] influences. The temple has four sanctums (''chatuskuta vimana'') with a superstructure (''[[shikhara]]'') surviving only over the main west facing shrine. The building material is [[soapstone]].<ref name="nonmainstream">Hardy (1995), p 340</ref> The temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]].<ref name="Nilagunda"/><ref name="protected">{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_karnataka_bangalore.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments - Karnataka -Bangalore, Bangalore Circle, Karnataka|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|accessdate=19 May 2015}}</ref>

==Temple plan and decoration==
Of the four sanctums in the temple, the ones in the north, west and south each have a [[Antechamber|vestibule]] (called ''[[antarala]]'') and a common hall (called ''sabhamantapa'' or just ''[[mantapa]]''). The common hall opens to a porch entrance (called ''mukhamantapa'') in the east which has a minor fourth shrine attached to it. The entrance to the porch is a lateral one. According to the historian Kamath, Western Chalukya temples usually exhibit ''[[vesara]]'' style superstructure (called ''[[shikhara]]''), and this is confirmed by the Archaeological Survey of India which designates the overall plan as ''vesara'' (a fusion of south and north Indian styles). The superstructure is a 3-tiered tower (called ''tritala'').<ref name="Nilagunda"/><ref name="ves">Kamath (2001), p116</ref>

The outer wall of the temple has projections and recesses creating niches. In these niches are miniature decorative towers in [[relief]] (called ''[[aedicula]]'' or [[Turret (architecture)|turrets]]), the execution of which evolved during the Later Chalukya rule. The ''Vesara'' style aedicula are supported by double [[pilasters]] while the ''[[dravidian architecture|Dravida]]'' (south Indian) style aedicula is supported by single pilasters. The art historian Percy Brown calls the Later Chalukyan style of wall decoration "exceptionally well rendered", and according to Kamath, the miniature towers are wrought in a "most artistic refrain".<ref name="ref">Kamath (2001), p 117</ref> Each tier of the superstructure has a ''[[kirtimukha]]'' (gargoyle like face). Below each ''kirtimukha'', is a relief of a deity such as the [[Nataraja]] or [[Maheshvara]] (both forms of the Hindu god [[Shiva]]). Worthy of mention is the ornate relief on the [[lintel]] and [[door jamb]] at the entrance to each sanctum (''[[garbhagriha]]'') which exhibit ''Saiva'' ''[[dvarapalas]]'' ("guardians" to a shrine of the god Shiva) flanked by female umbrella (''chauri'') bearers. Facing the west sanctum is a small sculpture of [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]] the bull. There are sculptures of various deities from the Hindu pantheon in the niches in the interior wall of the temple, such as [[Ganesh]] (elephant headed god of "beginnings" in Hinduism), [[Mahishamardini|Mahishasuramardhini]] (a form of [[Durga]]) and the [[Saptamatrika]] (the seven Hindu goddesses). The ceiling in the common hall is supported by four polished lathe turned pillars, which according to Kamath is also a characteristic feature of Western Chalukya temples.<ref name="ves"/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|1}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Sculpture of Shiva and Parvati in the mantapa of the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda.JPG|Sculpture of Shiva and Parvati in the mantapa of the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda
File:Mantapa in the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda.JPG|Mantapa with lathe turned pillarssupporting bay ceiling in the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda
File:Close up of the lintel over shrine entrance in the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda.JPG|Close up of the lintel over shrine entrance in the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda
File:Profile of the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda 1.JPG|Profile of the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda
File:Profile of the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda 2.JPG|Profile of the Bhimeshvara temple at Nilagunda
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Kalleshvara Temple, Bagali]]

==References==
*{{cite web|url=http://asibengalurucircle.org/davanagere-7.html|title=Bhimesvara Temple|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle|publisher=ASI Bengaluru Circle|accessdate=19 May 2015|archive-date=22 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522035604/http://asibengalurucircle.org/davanagere-7.html|url-status=dead}}
*Adam Hardy, Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation : the Karṇāṭa Drāviḍa Tradition, 7th to 13th Centuries, Abhinav, 1995, New Delhi, {{ISBN|81-7017-312-4}}.
*{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_karnataka_bangalore.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments - Karnataka -Bangalore, Bangalore Circle, Karnataka|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|accessdate=15 July 2012}}
*{{Cite book |last=Kamath |first=Suryanath U. |title=A concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present |orig-date=1980 |year=2001 |publisher=Jupiter books |location=Bangalore |oclc=7796041 |lccn=80905179}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bhimeshvara Temple, Nilagunda}}
{{Settlements in Davanagere district}}
{{Hindu temples in Karnataka}}
{{Historical places of Chalukyas}}

[[Category:Western Chalukya Empire]]
[[Category:Chalukya dynasty]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Davanagere district]]

Bhimeshvara Temple, Nilagunda - Revision history

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