The Hoysala Temple at Belur is one of the three Temples at Halebid, at Belur and at Somnathpur, east of Mysore. They are the cream of one of the most artistically exuberant periods of Hindu cultural development.Their sculptural decoration rivals that of Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) and Konarka (Orissa), or the best of European Gothic Art.
The Hoysalas ruled this part of the Deccan between the 11th and 13th centuries. They had their origins in the hill tribes of Western Ghats, and were for a long time, feudatories of the Chalukyans.
The Temple at Belur is the Channekeshava Temple, where the presiding deity is Lord Vishnu. It is the only one at the three major Hoysala sites still in daily use. It was begun in 1116 to commemorate the Hoysala’s victory over the Cholas at Talakad, and was worked on for over a century. Its exterior is not as extensively sculpted as the other Hoysala Temples, but much decorative work can be found on the internal supporting pillars and lintels. It is enclosed in a paved compound, which includes a well and a bathing tank. The Temple’s 14th century seven storey Gopuram has some sensual sculptures explicitly portraying the apres-temple activities of dancing girls.
The other, lesser, HoysalaTemples at Belur are the Channigaraya and the Viranatrayana.
Bus services are available to Belur from different places in Karnataka. One can come by train to Hassan and Arsekere, and then come here.
While I was in Mysore during 1960-63, I have visited Belur many times with my trainees and with my family. Each time I visited Belur I not only compared its architectural beauty with our Konarka, but thought about the transmission of ideas in those days when communication was not rapid, because Konarka and Belur were built around the same time at two different places, thousands of miles apart. Ideas do travel, Culture does travel. Ideas and Culture are not dependent upon literacy. They cross the illiteracy barrier. And that is the greatness of India !