Veera Narayana is one of the largest temples built by the Hoysala kings, and is known for its architecture. It is the finest example of the Trikuta style, which means that it has three shrines, each complete with its superstructures and halls. These are dedicated to the three forms of Vishnu - Veera Narayana, Venu-Gopala and Yoga-Narasimha. Unlike other Trikuta temples, which share a common hall, in this temple the central shrine along with a closed and an open hall were built first and the other two lateral shrines were built and attached to it later. The latter shrines face each other and are located on either side of a wide and spacious open hall. The entire temple complex is set in a small neat garden.
The outermost gate of the temple is uncharacteristic of the Hoysala architecture as it has a slanting roof, which is a feature of the Tulunadu style roofing. The entrance is flanked by two elephants. On entering inside, first there is a pillar called the Garuda ...
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Veera Narayana is one of the largest temples built by the Hoysala kings, and is known for its architecture. It is the finest example of the Trikuta style, which means that it has three shrines, each complete with its superstructures and halls. These are dedicated to the three forms of Vishnu - Veera Narayana, Venu-Gopala and Yoga-Narasimha. Unlike other Trikuta temples, which share a common hall, in this temple the central shrine along with a closed and an open hall were built first and the other two lateral shrines were built and attached to it later. The latter shrines face each other and are located on either side of a wide and spacious open hall. The entire temple complex is set in a small neat garden.
The outermost gate of the temple is uncharacteristic of the Hoysala architecture as it has a slanting roof, which is a feature of the Tulunadu style roofing. The entrance is flanked by two elephants. On entering inside, first there is a pillar called the Garuda Stambha. Further on, there is an open hall which has to its right the Sri Yoga-narasimha shrine and on the left the Venu-Gopala shrine. These two shrines are exactly the same in their size, decoration and finish, except that the left one is square shaped with three projections per side and the right one is star-shaped with two projections per side.
Upon walking further there is another open hall. After this there is a small closed hall. Each of these halls have richly decorated ceilings, which depict various stories from the Bhagavat. The space in all the halls has been divided into a total of 59 bays by as many vertical columns or pillars. Most of these pillars are lathe-turned and are bell shaped, and a few have decorative carvings on them. The total length of the temple is about 270 feet and the leveling of the ground is so well done that sitting at the gates of the sanctum sanctorum of the main shrine the horizon is visible from the ground. Last is the central shrine which has a simple square plan with three projections per side.
The tower of the main shrine consists of three tiers of decorated miniature roofs. The outer wall of the temple has one eave running around the temple where the superstructure meets the wall of the shrine and below this are decorative towers on pilasters. This is followed by a second eave. A panel of Hindu deities and their attendants are below this eave, which is followed by a set of five mouldings that form the base of the outer wall. At the top of the tower of the shrine there is a decorative water-pot like structure or a kalasha. The superstructure over each of three shrines is connected to a low protrusion tower called Sukanasi or the "nose" of the main tower. The Sukanasi has two tiers of decorated miniature roofs.
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