Kasivisvesvara temple, Lakkundi

The Kasivisvesvara temple (Kannada: ಕಾಶಿವಿಶ್ವೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ) (also spelt Kashivishveshvara) and sometimes called Kashivishvanatha (Kannada: ಕಾಶಿವಿಶ್ವನಾಥ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ) temple is located in Lakkundi, in the (Gadag district) of Karnataka state, India. It is 11 km from Gadag city, 24 km from Dambal and about 50 km from Kuknur.

The centre of cultural and temple-building activity of the Western Chalukya Empire lay in the Tungabhadra river region, where large medieval workshops built numerous monuments. These monuments, regional variants of pre-existing dravida (South Indian) temples, defined the Karnata dravida tradition. Lakkundi in particular was the location of the mature phase of the Western Chalukya architecture, and the Kasivisvesvara temple marks a high point of these achievements. According to Henry Cousens, it is one of the most ornate temples in the Kannada spoken region of India.

The existence of a 1087 CE inscription on a beam in the temple mantapa (hall) and the plainness of that part of the temple suggests that the original construction may have been simpler and that the profusion of decoration may have been added to the other parts of the temple at a later period, with the end of Chola invasions of Chalukyan territory. Most of the inscriptions in Lakkundi date from 1170 CE onwards. It is known that Hoysala king Veera Ballala II annexed Lakkundi (also known as Lokkigundi) from the Seunas of Devagiri and made it his capital around 1193 CE. It is possible that the temple may have received embellishment during his rule.

...
Wikipedia