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Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Nuggehalli


The Lakshmi Narasimha temple was built in 1246 CE by Bommanna Dandanayaka, a commander in the Hoysala Empire during he rule of King Vira Someshwara. It is a good example of 13th century Hoysala architecture. Located a short distance away in Nuggehalli, and built around the same time is the Sadashiva temple. The town was called Vijaya Somanathapura in ancient times and gained importance as an agrahara (place of learning) during the time of Bommanna Dandanayaka. Nuggehalli, (also spelled "Nuggihalli"), is a town in Hassan district of Karnataka, India. It is located on the Tiptur-Channarayapatna state highway and is about 50 km from Hassan city. It is well connected by road with Bangalore, the state capital.

This is a good example of a richly decorated Hoysala temple built in the trikuta (three towers) vimana (shrine) style with fine sculptures adorning the walls. The material used is Chloritic Schist, more commonly known as Soapstone) and the temple is built on a jagati (platform) that closely follows the plan of the temple. The size of the original temple can be considered small, to which a larger open mantapa(hall) was later added. The three shrines are located around a central closed mantapa with 9 "bays" (compartment between four pillars). The ceiling of the closed mantapa is supported by four lathe turned pillars which is deeply domed in the center. The central shrine is the most prominent one and has a large tower. This shrine has a vestibule that connects the shrine to the mantapa (hall). Consequently, the vestibule also has a tower (or superstructure, shikhara) that looks like a shorter extension of the main tower. It is called the sukanasi. According to Foekema, it looks like the "nose" of the main tower. The other two shrines have smaller towers and because they have no vestibule to connect them to the central mantapa, they have no sukanasi.


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