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2021-01-13T13:46:28Z

Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 6 templates: hyphenate params (6×);

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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
[[File:Tripurantakesvara Temple at Balligavi.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Entrance of Tripurantaka temple with erotic sculptures at the base]]

The '''Tripurantaka Temple''' (also called '''Tripurantakesvara''' or '''Tripurantakeshwara''') was built around c. 1070 CE<ref name="when">{{cite web|author=Kamat J.|title=Temples of Karnataka|url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/temples.htm|publisher=Kamat's Potpourri|work=Timeless Theater - Karnataka|access-date=2008-05-14}}</ref> by the [[Western Chalukya Empire|Western Chalukyas]]. This temple, which is in a dilapidated state, is in the historically important town of [[Balligavi]] (also called Balagamve), modern [[Shivamogga district]], [[Karnataka]] [[Indian state|state]], [[India]]. The exterior walls of the temple have erotic sculptures on [[frieze]]s. These depictions are considered rare in [[Western Chalukya architecture|Chalukyan art]]. Being miniature in size, these are visible only upon close examination.<ref name="lion">Cousens (1926), p. 107</ref> During medieval times, Balligavi was a seat of learning to multiple religious faiths and was home to many monuments and structures built by the Chalukyas.<ref name="buildings">{{cite web|title=A glimpse of the lost grandeur
|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/archives/jan252005/spt7.asp|author=Raghavendra Chandragutti|publisher=[[Deccan Herald]]|work=Spectrum, Deccan Herald, Tuesday, January 25, 2005|access-date=2008-05-14}}</ref> More than 80 medieval [[epigraphy|inscriptions]] have been discovered in Balligavi and belong to the [[Shaiva]], [[Vaishnava]], [[Jain]] and [[Buddhist]] faiths. These inscriptions describe, among other things, the building of temples.<ref name="build">Cousens (1926), p. 108</ref>
==Other sculptures==
[[File:Erotic Sculpture1 at Tripurantakesvara Temple in Balligavi.jpg|thumb|left|Kamasutra art sculpture]]
[[File:Erotic Sculpture at Tripurantakesvara Temple in Balligavi.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kamasutra]] (erotica) art, 1070 CE, Tripurantaka Temple, [[Shimoga district]]]]
This temple is noted for its decorative windows and screens which consist of very intricate perforated stone work. The two sides of the doorway to the shrine have a window panels, each filled entirely by three pairs of ''[[nāga]]'' figures (snake). The long intertwined and knotted bodies of these ''nagas'' create a virtual mesh to fill up the panels.<ref name="snake">Cousens (1927), p. 106</ref> Above the entrance to the shrine is a decorative [[architrave]] with sculptures of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] Gods [[Brahma]], [[Shiva]] and [[Vishnu]], with Shiva being depicted in his [[Bhairava]] form. Other figures here are the ''[[dikpala]]s'' (the guardians). Some interesting larger sized figure sculptures exist, such as the sculpture of a [[Hoysala]] king slaying a lion. This piece of sculpture comes with its own inscription and depicts a hunting expedition in which the king, in the company of his hunting dogs, speared and killed a wild boar. Also depicted is the king on foot, fighting a lion which sprang out of the forest.<ref name="lion">Cousens (1926), p. 107</ref>
[[File:Ganda-Bherunda sculpture at Balligavi.jpg|right|thumb|upright|''Ganda-Bherunda'' (Two headed mythical bird) at town centre in Balligavi]]
An interesting piece of sculpture near the temple in the town centre is the ''Ganda-Bherunda Stambha'' ("column of two-headed bird"). The column on which the sculpture stands is about {{convert|30|ft|m|0}} tall and the shaft is about {{convert|15|in|cm}} in diameter. The top of the column has an octagonal capital surmounted by a broad slab of stone. Upon this is mounted the statue of the mythical two-headed bird ''Ganda-Bherunda'', which, according to legend was an enemy of elephants and fed on their flesh.<ref name="bird">Cousens (1926), p. 146</ref> The statue has the body of a human standing upright with two bird like heads, looking in opposite directions. In its hands, it holds the prey that it feeds on. An inscription at the base of the column describes its erection in 1047 CE by Chamundaraya Arasa of the [[Kadamba Dynasty]] of [[Banavasi]]. Legend has it that the column may have been erected to scare away marauding elephants from local plantations.<ref name="bird"/>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{commonscat}}
* {{cite book|author=Cousens, Henry|title= The Chalukyan Architecture of Kanarese Districts|orig-year= 1926|year= 1996|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |location= New Delhi|oclc = 37526233}}
*{{cite web|title=Balligavi-An important seat of learning|url=http://www.chitralakshana.com/balligavi.html|author=U.B.Githa, Research associate|publisher=Chitralakshana|work=©Chitralakshana.com 2002|access-date=2007-05-14}}
*{{cite web|author=Kamat J.|title=Temples of Karnataka|url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/temples.htm|publisher=Kamat's Potpourri|work=Timeless Theater - Karnataka|access-date=2008-05-14}}
*{{cite web|title=A glimpse of the lost grandeur
|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/archives/jan252005/spt7.asp|author=Raghavendra Chandragutti|publisher=Deccan Herald|work=Spectrum, Deccan Herald, Tuesday, January 25, 2005|access-date=2008-05-14}}

{{coord|14|23|38|N|75|14|38|E|display=title}}
{{Hindu temples in Karnataka}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century]]
[[Category:Western Chalukya Empire]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Shimoga district]]
[[Category:11th-century Hindu temples]]

Tripurantaka Temple - Revision history

imported>Monkbot: Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 6 templates: hyphenate params (6×);