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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Chennakeshava Temple
| native_name =
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| settlement_type = Hindu temple
| image_skyline = File:View of Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Chennakeshava temple (1163 A.D.) at Hullekere in [[Hassan district]]
| pushpin_map = 
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Karnataka, India
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| 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 = [[Hassan District]]
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| unit_pref = Metric
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| population_density_km2 = auto
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| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Kannada]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
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[[File:Close up of parapet wall relief in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Close up of parapet wall relief in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere]]
[[File:Shrine and tower in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Shrine and ''[[Shikhara]]'' (tower) in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere]]
The '''Chennakeshava temple''', dedicated to the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god [[Vishnu]] is located in the village of Hullekere, in the Arasikere Taluk, about 22 km from the commercial town [[Arasikere]]. It was built in 1163 A.D. by a minister of [[Hoysala empire]] king [[Narasimha I]]. The art historian Adam Hardy categorizes the architectural style as a single shrine (''vimana'') construction with miniature ''vimanas'', the basic building material being [[Soap stone]].<ref name="stone">Hardy (1995), p.332</ref> The monument is protected by the Karnataka state division of [[Archaeological Survey of India]].<ref name="protect">{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_protected_monu_karnataka.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Protected Monuments-List of State Protected|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|accessdate=9 November 2014}}</ref>

==Temple plan==
The temple has all the basic features of a Hoysala era construction. According to art historian Gerard Foekema, being a single ''vimana'' (cella or shrine) construction it qualifies as a ''ekakuta'' plan (a tower called ''[[shikhara]]'' over the shrine). The entrance to the temple is through an open pillared hall or porch (''mukhamantapa'') followed by a closed hall (''[[mantapa]]'' or ''navaranga'').<ref name="taste">Foekema (1996), p.25</ref><ref name="sign"/> The porch consists of an [[awning]] supported by half pillars and parapets on either side. The decor on the [[parapet]] walls, ceiling, [[lintel]] over the entrance and the pillars is noteworthy.<ref name="pillar">Foekema (1996), p.24</ref> The inner walls of the shrine is square and plain where as the outer walls (also square) have numerous recesses and projections that is used for decorative relief which includes ''[[Kirtimukha]]'', ''[[Aedicula]]'' (miniature decorative towers), deities in relief and half [[pilaster]]s. The closed hall connects to the sanctum via a [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] (called ''sukhanasi''). The vestibule also as a tower that looks like a low protrusion of the tower over the shrine. The ceiling of the compact closed hall is supported by four lathe turned pillars that divide the ceiling into nine tastefully decorated bays.<ref name="wall">Foekema (1996), pp.21-22</ref>

At the top of the main tower is the ''[[kalasha]]'', a decorative water-pot like structure which stands on a large ornate dome. This dome is the largest piece of sculpture in the temple and can be 2m x 2m in size. On the tower over the vestibule (also called ''sukhanasi'', Foekema calls it the "nose") is located the Hoysala emblem of a royal warrior (legend has it that it is Sala, the founder of the empire) stabbing a lion.<ref name="lion">Foekema (1996), p.27</ref> The design of the tower, according to art historian Percy Brown, is a characteristic feature to the Hoysala art. According to Brown, the decorative details in the wall of the shrine is carried through the tower. The tower is divided into decorative tiers with each tier diminishing in height and culminating in an "umbrella" like structure.<ref name="brown">Brown in Kamath (1980), pp.134-135</ref> Brown also claims the lathe turned pillars with four brackets above are a signature style of the 11th-13th century Chalukya-Hoysala architectural idiom.<ref name="sign">Brown in Kamath (1980), p.134</ref>

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

==References==
* Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples, Abhinav, 1996, New Delhi, {{ISBN|81-7017-345-0}}
* {{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}}

* 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}}.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Closed mantapa with lathe turned pillars in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|Closed ''[[mantapa]]'' with lathe turned pillars supporting bay ceiling in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Decorative aedicule over deity relief sculpture on outer wall of Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|Decorative miniature decorative towers over deity relief sculpture on outer wall of Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Domical ceiling over mukhamantapa in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|Domical ceiling over ''mukhamantapa'' (entrance porch) in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Kirtimukha over aedicules in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|[[Kirtimukha]] over aedicules in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Mukhamantapa with elephant baluster in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|''Mukhamantapa'' with elephant baluster in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Old Kannada inscription in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|Old Kannada inscription in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Sukhanasi with the Hoysala emblem mounted on top in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|''Sukhanasi'' (tower over vestibule) with the Hoysala emblem mounted on top in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Rear view of Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG| Rear view of Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Relief on parapet wall of mukhamantapa in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|Relief on parapet wall of ''mukhamantapa'' in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
Close up of decorative relief on parapet wall in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere.JPG|Close up of decorative relief on parapet wall in Chennakeshava temple at Hullekere
</gallery>

[[Category:Hindu temples in Hassan district]]
[[Category:12th-century Hindu temples]]

Chennakeshava Temple, Hullekere - Revision history

IolaWatriama22: Started location