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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Nagareshvara Temple
| native_name =
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| settlement_type = Hindu temple
| image_skyline = Top view of the Nagareshvara temple at Bankapura, built by the Kalyani (Western) Chalukyas of Karnataka.JPG
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Large open ''mantapa'' in Nagareshvara temple (11th century CE) at Bankapura in [[Haveri district]]
| pushpin_map = 
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Karnataka, India
| coordinates =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and union territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Karnataka]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts in India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Haveri District]]
| established_title = 
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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
| postal_code_type = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]]
| postal_code = 581202
| registration_plate =
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}}
[[File:Decorative lintel and door jamb relief at entrance into closed mantapa in the Nagareshvara temple at Bankapura.jpg|thumb|right|Elaborately decorated doorjamb and [[lintel]] of lateral entrance into closed mantapa of the Nagareshvara temple, Bankapura]]
[[File:Decorative door jamb and lintel relief at lateral entrance into closed mantapa of the Nagareshavra temple at Bankapura.JPG|thumb|upright|right|Decorative door jamb and lintel relief at main entrance into closed mantapa of the Nagareshvara temple, Bankapura]]

The '''Nagareshvara Temple''', (also spelt '''Nagaresvara''' or '''Nagareshwara''') also called the '''Aravattarukmbhada Gudi''' (''lit'', "Temple with sixty six columns") is a 12th-century [[Western Chalukya architecture|Western Chalaukya]] (also called Later Chalukya or Kalyani Chalukya) construction. [[Bankapura]] is located in the [[Haveri District]] of Karnataka state, India. According to the Archaeologist Henry Cousens (1854–1933), during medieval times, the Bankapura fort was considered one of the most important fortifications in the Karnataka region. According to Cousens, the temple suffered much damage when Bankapura fell to the armies of Firoz Shah Bahamani in 1406 CE and later again when it was occupied by the Bijapur Sultan Adil Shah. According to the writings of Farishtah, the Sultan "ordered a superb temple within the fort to be destroyed". However, despite much pillage, the large temple with its majestic "great" hall (''[[mantapa]]'') still retains some of its original beauty.<ref name="glory">Cousens (1926), pp.94-75</ref> That the temple was built in honor of the Hindu god Shiva comes from two short inscriptions in the temple which begin with a salutation to "Shambu" (another name for the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god [[Shiva]]). There are other inscriptions in the temple, two of which are dated 1138 CE and one dated 1091 that record grants to the god "Nagaresvaradeva".<ref name="shambu">Cousens (1926), p.96</ref> The temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.<ref name="protected">{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_karnataka_dharwad.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments – Karnataka -Dharwad, Dharwad Circle, Karnataka|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|accessdate=7 April 2013}}</ref>

==Temple plan==
[[File:Large open mantapa with lathe turned pillars in the Nagareshvara temple at Bankapura.JPG|thumb|Large open mantapa with lathe turned pillars in the Nagareshvara temple at Bankapura]]
According to the historian Kamath, Western Chalukya architecture has a pride of place in Indian architectural tradition, and had a significant influence on the later day [[Hoysala architecture]].<ref name="influence">Kamath (2001), p. 115</ref> According to art historian Adam Hardy, this temple is assignable to the 12th century and belongs to the non-mainstream Western Chalukya art. It is constructed with [[soap stone]] material and comprises a small shrine (''vimana'') and a closed hall (''mantapa'') that connects to a large open hall (''Mahamantapa'' or ''Navaranga'').<ref name="vimana">Hardy (1995), p.324</ref> Like all Western Chalukyan temples, the sanctum is connected to the large hall via a [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] ("antechamber" or ''ardhamantapa'', which literally means "half hall"). At the end of the large hall, facing the sanctum is an open ''Nandimantapa'' (a small open hall with a seated sculpture of Nandi the bull, a companion to the god Shiva).<ref name="pillar"/> According to the art historian Percy Brown, the Western Chalukya architects provided well rendered external wall surfaces for the shrine and the halls. This they did by spacing out the surface with slender full and half pilasters. On top of the half pilasters are miniature decorative towers (''[[shikhara]]'', called [[aedicula]]) with niches underneath.<ref name="tower">Brown in Kamath (2001), p.117</ref>

The highlight of the large hall are the bell shaped lathe turned pillars of dark grey stone (soap stone). So well polished are the pillars that they sparkle with reflected light. According to the Kamath, this is a standard characteristic of Western Chalukya pillar art, later to become popular with the Hoysala architects as well.<ref name="pillar">Kamath (2001), p. 116</ref> The main decoration on these pillars are the horizontal rings of moldings. There are other pillars on square bases whose shafts are octagonal or 16-sided with round capitals. The columns that stand between the two halls are extremely ornate and belong to an entirely different workmanship.<ref name="pillars">Cousens (1926), p.95</ref> The ceiling in the large hall between pillars are highly decorative with designs such as [[rosette (design)|rosette]]s with imaginary beasts (''[[Kirtimukha]]''s) at the four corners. Mention must be made of the central domed ceiling in the large hall which rises in concentric ornamental circles. The doorjamb and lintel decoration is worthy of mention, especially at the entrance to the closed hall from the south. The sanctum is now empty but would have at one time housed a ''[[linga]]'', the universal image of the god Shiva. Though this temple has been called a Jain temple, according to Cousens, there is no trace of any images directly related to [[Jainism]]. On the contrary, there are numerous sculptures in relief of the Hindu gods such as Shiva, [[Vishnu]], [[Ganapati]], [[Brahma]] and [[Kali]].<ref name="shambu">Cousens (1926), p.96</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Notes==
{{Commons category|Nagareshvara Temple, Bankapura}}
* {{cite book|author=Cousens, Henry|title= The Chalukyan Architecture of Kanarese Districts|origyear= 1926|year= 1996|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |location= New Delhi|oclc = 37526233}}
* {{cite book |last=Foekema|first=Gerard |title= Architecture decorated with architecture: Later medieval temples of Karnataka, 1000–1300 AD|origyear=2003|year=2003|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd|location= New Delhi|isbn= 81-215-1089-9}}
*{{Cite book |last=Kamath |first=Suryanath U. |title=A concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present |origyear=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 {{ISBN|81-7017-312-4}}.
*{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_karnataka_dharwad.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments – Karnataka – Dharwad, Dharwad Circle, Karnataka|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|accessdate=7 April 2013}}

{{Hindu temples in Karnataka}}
{{coord missing|Karnataka}}

[[Category:12th-century Hindu temples]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Haveri district]]
[[Category:Chalukya dynasty]]
[[Category:Western Chalukya Empire]]

Nagareshvara Temple, Bankapura - Revision history

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