February 27, 2015 
MYSORE to BELUR via HALEBID 181 km 
Hotel Mayura Velapuri 1350Rs AC without breakfast or WiFi 


Semi-Arid Desert Ride
 
Getting out of Mysore at 8:30 am was surprisingly smooth. For unknown reasons traffic was light. Once we took the cutoff on highway 7, we wound through small villages. We watched woman dressed in colorful saris come together at central water pumps. Or making their way to the often muddy river with large metal bowls piled high with clothes to be washed or heading out to the forest for wood for fuel for today's cooking. I feel for these women and can't help feeling embarrassment about the many things I "needed" in order to function "extremely efficiently". A gadget for every thing. Yes I was one of the worst with my electric choppers, grinders, food processor, blenders and mixers. The push of a button takes all the elbow grease out of chores that consumes the entire day for these women. I am reminded daily how fortunate we are. White oxen with gold painted horns strapped in front of wooden plows worked the fields. 

 
Ancient Architecture
 
Most of the highway ride was on good pavement and we even had a stretch of wide toll road where we could really fly - nice! But the road surface deteriorated when got to Hassan, we diverted from the Bangalore road and onto a tertiary road leading to Halebid, or Halebadu per the local road signs. We easily found the temple as we entered the town. 

A few tour buses marked the entrance to the site which was at the middle of a grass field surrounded by a low fence like a suburban school yard. There wasn't an entry gate, a pay booth or a security guard at the small parking lot. We worried about leaving our luggage unattended while we went inside. An Indian gent assured us it would be fine.....

Hoysaleswara Temple   
 Location: Halebid, Karnataka
 Built in: 12th century
 Dedicated to: Lord Shiva
 Attraction: Exquisite architecture
 Significance: One of the largest temples dedicated to Lord Shiva in South India 
 
Hoysaleswara temple is dedicated to Hindu god Shiva. The construction was started around 1120 CE and completed in 1150 CE. Construction of the temple was initiated and financed by wealthy citizens.

Shiva, one of the main Deities of Hinduism, is one of the most complex gods, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities, the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger.
 
 
 
Perched a raised platform, the Hoysalewara temple consists of twin sanctuaries connected by an open space. Every surface, interior and exterior walls, floors and ceilings, and supporting pillars, is carved with interesting motifs of mythological episodes. There are four main doors so intricately carved they call them ".. stairway to heaven." The lathe turned monolithic pillars are 16 feet high. Exterior walls have seven to nine courses, depending where and what you count, with continuous frieze rows of horses, people dancing, elephants, Yalis (a mythological creature), swans, etc.... The figures on the west exterior wall show signs of wind and blowing sand damage over the last 900 years. Inside and on protected surfaces, they are in extremely good condition. Inside, on the ceiling, appears what like looks blue residue like it may have been painted at some point.   

The sign out front calls this the finest example of temple architecture and these surely are good candidates. But southern India, and this state in particular, is littered with equally fine examples, including those in Hampi. That is why there are very few western tourists bother to make it over to Halebid. But if you saw just one, this one would be enough...

There is also a Nandi (sacred bull monolith) in a pavilion which juts out incongruously on the east side. Across the grass to the north, is a museum littered with odds and end of carved pillars and blocks apparently of the same era. We did not feel compelled to go inside this Museum of the ASI.

 
Lost in Belur
 
We had Belur in our google map but could not locate the Belur temple in it. We got to Belur, a sprawling town, and took a 3 or 4 kilometer detour. Then we discover the hotel was within walking distance of a temple, and put that in. Mr. google took us right to the hotel. We checked into the spartan but totally adequate hotel and had a decent lunch in it's restaurant.
 
I was in sensory overload and did not need to see another sample of exquisite 12 century architecture. But our guidebook said they conduct sunrise and sunset pujas that tourist are allowed see and we decided to go over just before sundown for that.

  
Belur Temple Complex
 
16 km west is Belur. renowned for the Chennakesava Temple, a fine example example of Hoysala architecture, built by king Vishnuvardhana in the 12th century. 

We walked inside high compound walls of the complex and realized they don't have a "Belur" temple. Behind the newish complex gate, are four 12th century temples; Veera Narayan temple, Keshaua temple, Chennakesava temple and Andal (Rangana Yaki) temple. There may be others too.

 
Active Temples

Besides the quantity, the prime difference between these, and the temple in Halebid, are that these have organized religious ceremonies. A swami was seeing visitors in one and we had the puja in another.
 

Temple Workmanship

One Chennakeshave temple write-up says:
 
The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. The intricate workmanship includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological epics, and sensuous dancers (Shilabalikas). Inside the temple are a number of ornate pillars. Darpana Sundari (Lady with the mirror) is depicted.

 
Puja Time

A Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals.

We stood outside chatting with students as the sun went down. First we heard the sound similar to a clarinet and the beating of a drum. We made inside the temple.

A group of devotees waited in line at a gate of the inner sanctum. A holy man came to the front and touched them one by one. Then, a small procession came out wafting incense. The drum and horn continued loudly ricocheting off the temple's rock interior . Blessings for everyone. We did not understand anything that was being said. And since we are not Hindu, we felt we were being too intrusive. We slinked away out the back door.