My visit to Belur

Happy Dussehra to all my readers! Last week I visited the Chennakeshava Temple in Belur. Let us jump right into the details.

It was a four-hour drive from Bangalore and we stopped for breakfast in a town called Kunigal. Paakashala was the name of the restaurant. It was a nice place and even had a small lawn that housed four ducks. I had masala dosa and kesari bhath. We reached Belur at around 11: 40AM. Outside the Chennakeshava Temple, there was a small stall where people sold tiny brass idols. We bought one of Lord Shiva in Nataraja pose.

Small idol I bought from Belur- Lord Shiva

In Chennakeshava Temple we hired a guide who took us around. I was mind blown after one look at the temple. It was beautifully carved and I learned that it was made from slate/ soapstone. I was even more amazed to know the temple builders only had a chisel and hammer to use. The temple was completed in three generations in the 12th century in 1117 CE. This temple is a Keshava Temple which meant it is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is built by the Hoysala dynasty

Temple entrance

There was the main temple, another temple that the builders used as a model, a temple pond, and a mandapa where they held marriages. Even to this day, the government allows people to host simple marriages. We were first taken around the Keshava temple. This temple had pretty damsels carved at the top. They were all different and some I found funny. One that I liked was when a damsel picked up a stick to shoo away a monkey that was pulling her dress. In the bottom row on the outside of the temple, the builders have carved many elephants each of them unique.

Elephant carvings at the bottom row on the outside temple

The carvings not only included gods and animals, but there were also carvings of musicians, artists, and wrestlers. I learned that almost every carving had a story. Inside the temple, there were many pillars. Some builders left empty spaces to “fill in the blank” for the next generations. But even today some of the blanks have not been filled. A few statues in and around the temple had been damaged or stolen by invaders.

Lost statue on the outside of the temple

Pretty carvings on the outside of the Chennakeshava Temple

Beautiful carvings outside the temple

Carving of Maha Vishnu and his wife Laxmi

Carvings outside the temple

Carvings of Vishnu’s incarnations

Even if some of the statues were broken poojas were still held every morning and evening. Something else that caught my eye was the Temple pond. I could not go inside as the door that led to it was locked. But I could see it from the outside because there was no wall to block it. The main thing that made me happy was that the pond was filled with freshwater turtles. There were so many that I didn’t know where to start counting.

Temple pond near the entrance

Within the temple compound, there is also a well. People threw coins inside to make a wish. I also saw a tall tower that was not fixed with cement or was not strongly kept to its platform. It stood like that without falling for over 500 years.

The tall tower that stood for over 50 years

I would have loved to spend many hours there but it was time to go home after seeing the beautiful Chennakeshava Temple.