Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal Hoysala Architecture
Javagal, a small town of Hassan, I knew was famous as Indian Cricket Player Javagal Srinath’s birthplace… that is how popular cricket in India is! I feel Javagal should be better known for the Hoysala treasure that it owns – the immaculately sculptured Javagal Narasimha Temple!
When we reached there the temple pujari, a young boy of 19 years was closing the temple for noon. Seeing us he readily opened the doors and helped us offer our prayers there.
Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal
As the name implies Lord Lakshminarasimha, an avatar of Lord Vishnu is the main deity here. There is another temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi just beside this temple.
The complex is huge but not so well looked after like the temples in Belavadi and Doddagaddavalli. Sadly the temple doesn’t come under protection of Archaeological Society of India (ASI), hence the neglect!
History of Lakshminarasimha Temple Javagal
The exact details of time of construction of these temples are not known as the inscription tablet or stone with info is damaged. The construction of this temple took place during 13th century, much later than Veeranarayana Temple of Belavadi.
King Vira Someshwara (1235 – 1263) built this grand Hoysala Temple. Hoysalas ruled the southern Deccan from 1026 to 1343 AD. King Vira Someshwara was 9th of the 12 kings of Hoysala dynasty that ruled.
Lakshminarasimha Temple Idols
It is a jagrut temple, meaning a working temple, and puja, mangalarti and archana is offered regularly. Garbhagruhas (the portion that houses the idols) here are arranged in a triangular pattern.
- Bhagwan Vishnu’s idol is in the main sanctum,
- Bhagwan Venugopal’s idol in the southern
- and Bhagwan Lakshmi Narasimha’s in northern sanctum. Narasimha is an avatar of Vishnu, half-man and half-lion who killed the demon king Hiranyakashyap.
We saw each of the idols laden with several garlands of colorful flowers.
Only the central shrine has vestibule or tower above it. Three sides of the central shrine are visible from outside, while only one side of the other 2 shrines is visible externally.
The temple is small, hence has a closed mantapa, enclosed by walls up to the ceiling and decorated well in the outside. Mukhamantapa has a small seating arrangement with very less numbers of pillars compared to the temple of Belavadi.
Lakshminarasimha Temple Javagal Hoysala Architecture
The outer wall here fascinated me the most! It has stunning workmanship on it with carved sculptures. There are 140 wall panel images, each made with attention to fine details. Seems like each figure has a story to tell. I have not seen the dashavatars depicted so finely in any other temple as they are done here.
The 140 panels include the Chaturvimsati murtis (the 24 forms of Vishnu that personify and embody the 24 elements of the phenomenal world), Harihara, Brahma, Parvati, Tandav Ganesha and many more. The toran shows Krishna killing the serpent Kaliya, better known as Kaliya Mardan or Kaliya Samhara.
The temple plan is same as the standard Hoysala design. It is a trikuta temple, meaning with three equal size shrines, all on a square plan connected by a common mantapa (closed hall). Only the middle shrine has a shikhara (superstructure) and a sukhanasi (tower over the vestibule). The middle shrine has a vestibule that connects the garbhgriha (sanctum) to the mantapa.
The lateral shrines have no tower projecting over them. They are directly connected to the hall without a vestibule, one reason why they do not appear like separate shrines from the outside. Only the central shrine is clearly visible from the outside because of its shikhara, and the sukhanasi that projects prominently from the tower.
The temple stands on a platform (jagati), which provides a path to devotees for pradakshinapatha (circumambulation) around the temple.
The base has 6 rectangular moldings of equal width
- Starting from the top, the friezes depict; hansa (birds) in the first frieze,
- makara (aquatic monsters) in the second, epics and other stories
- in the third (usually from the Hindu epic Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and stories of Krishna),
- leafy scrolls in the fourth,
- horses in the fifth
- and elephants in the sixth (bottom frieze).
Most impressive of all sights in the exteriors is how the friezes go all along the temple circumference… it is like the characters of the friezes are following the one ahead in a disciplined manner!
Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal Hoysala Architecture Details
Unlike other Hoysala temples, this Lakshminarasimha Temple of Javagal doesn’t have elephant balustrades (parapets) on either side of the steps leading to temple. Instead there are two of them outside the entrance to the whole complex. Dwarapalikas to this temple are the Vijayanagara style door guards. You can find them near the mukhamantapa (main entrance).
All these carvings are carried out on grey soap stone, which is easy to sculpt and hardens on exposure to air.
Timings and Tickets
The temple is open from 6 AM to 7 PM. Sometime in between the pujari goes to have his lunch when it is closed for a short while. It is a jagrut (live) temple, meaning daily puja is offered here.
It is a free sight, no tickets required to enter the temple.
Location of Javagal Narasimha Temple
Javagal town is located in the Arsikere taluk of Hassan district in Karnataka. Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal is 15 km from Halebeedu temple of Hassan district. It is 205 km from Bangalore. We visited this temple from Chikmagalur, where we had a night halt.
Nearest railway stations – Kadur and Birur.
Nearest large bus stations – either Banvara or Hassan.
Javagal to Bangalore (Int. airport) distance – 245 km by road.
Javagal to Hassan (KSTRC Busstand) – 44.6 km by road.
Javagl to Mangalore international airport – 180 km by road, but better connectivity is with Bangalore international airport.
Other things to do in Javagal City
Besides this architectural showpiece of the town, the Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Javagal has a dargah (mosque). It is known by the name: Dargah Hazrat Khalandar Shah Qadri, Javagal Shareef. It is located at National Highway 234, Javagal, Karnataka 573125, India.
If you love seeing houses of celebrities then don’t miss Javagal Srinath’s uncle’s home where he spent some holidays in his childhood. Srinath was raised in Mysore, his uncle’s house still exists in the village and villagers will happily point it out.
Tourist attractions near Javagal are:
- Hill station and coffee estates of Chikkamagaluru
- Temple town of Melukote famous for its Iyengars and puliyogare
- Jain pilgrimage site of Shravanabelagola that is home to the mighty Bahubali statue
- Bhadra tiger reserve that is known for river terns, tigers and leopards
Places to Stay
Basic budget accommodation can be found at Belur and Halebid. A luxurious stay option is Hoysala Village resort that is located between Belur and Hassan. There are plenty of plantation stays and resorts located in and around Chikkamagalur.
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Thanks for Sharing details about Indian culture, temple, Nature.
Lovely. I will definitely visit this place and temple when I take a trip to south. I haven’t explored Karnataka much yet.
Breathtaking!
Thank you for sharing these images of such a beautiful, ancient sacred site. I’ll never make it there but I feel I have.
looks like an awesome place, this type of architectural works always attracts me a lot, pic very nicely taken.
The architecture and details are just beautiful!! The last picture shows how magnificient the temple is. To be honest, had no idea Javagal was a village until I read about it here. Great post Indrani 🙂
I also know the temple town only through Javagal Srinath..and now so much info on the beautifully carved temples..Halebid is such a marvel ..
The detail on the carving of the dashavators is beautifully intricate!
Its a new information for me that Javagal Srinath’s first name is derived from his native place . Amazing . I know that most of the Hindu names in Karnataka are starts with their native place as Hardanhalli of H.D.Devegodda. what a beautiful and intricate structure is exist in these temples.
Amazing architecture… some great sculptures, I wish to take my Grandma here :’)
Those well carvings are gorgeous. They remind me of the ones I have seen at Angkor Wat. I love the colorful garlands, too. Thanks for linking up this week! #TPThursday
Beautiful temple. The sculptures have been carved to perfection. I have always admired sculptors. The patience required is immense!
Wish we had visited this place too!
Great detailed write up.
Interesting History about Javagal. Prompted me to google it up ha 😀
Great read and love the temple pictures.
wow! so delicate are the carvings that i think will be quite difficult to to be done nowadays
Whoa! it seems you set a probe on this temple. Thanks for sharing.
Lakshmi Narasimhar is a warrior. People, in this part of TN, will pray him just to destroy their enemies.
Like the pictures
What an incredible architechture !! One gets awestruck by the magnificence of the sculptures . How many years the artisans must have worked to produce such gems out of rocks ,it is unimaginable !
Looks like a beautiful place!
Surely after reading this article this place will not only remember for cricket but also for masterpiece artwork and the hard work behind that.
The temple is truly magnificent, beautiful carvings and amazing architecture….but yea it is difficult to take out cricket from India. Javagal gets you Srinath’s name as top of the mind recall. Sunil Gavaskar and Srinath made an awesome opening pair 🙂
To be honest, when I read the title, I instantly remembered ‘Javagal Srinath’, but I agree with you, we should remember it for the beautiful temple it has.
Thanks for the detailed description, Indrani. Apart from the shots of the brilliant architecture of the temple, I really liked the close up shot of the idol. Hope to visit this temple soon.
Magnificent temple, so ornate, the sculptures are great.
What a gorgeous Temple.
The temples are awesome with all the ornate detailing. I cannot get enough of them.
I think is the most detailed temple you have shown. I wonder how long it took to complete the works and how many people participated.
Love the flower decoration 🙂
Incredible photos! Fun to learn about the meaning behind the carvings as well as see so many wonderful details.
Great architecture.
Nice post. Thanks for sharing details about this lovely temple.
Wonderful tour of the temple. Thanks for sharing your visit. Great series of photos. Happy Wednesday, I hope you have a great day!
Wow, wonderful impressions of this special temple. I like the sculptures in stone.
Best regards, Synnöve