“Haleebedu , Belur and Sharavanbelogola “ are the must see on the Toursit itinerary of those visiting Karnataka. Karnataka is land of ancient temples with mesmerizing architecture and the above-mentioned temples are a good example of that.
I had been to Haleebedu and Belur as a child many years ago (1989 to be precise), but remember very little of those places.
Myself in 1989 wearing red shorts.
Hence after almost five years in Mysore we decided to plan an overnight trip on my own temple-run. The fact that neither Halebeedu nor Belur are “Jagrit “ temples encouraged me for a weekend trip. Because it is only the “Mannat fulfilling” temples which are overrun by devotees, not the ones known for their architectural beauty.
Typically, I avoid driving my car on highway and hence hired a taxi for two days. Plan was to visit Sharavanbelogola on Saturday and move to Halebeedu for an overnight stay. Visit Belur on Sunday and back to Mysore
On 3-Aug-2019, we set out at 8:00 AM to Sharavanbelogola in a hired Tata Indica. The roads in this part of Karnataka are pretty good and we made swift progress till KR Pete where stopped for a quick snacks. Even small towns in Karnataka have a hygienic vegetarian restaurant , which is quite commendable.
Around 10:30 am, we arrived at the base of Vindhyagiri Hill in Sharavanbelogola, at the summit of which is the famous statue of Bahubali Gommateshwara .We deposited our shoes at relevant stand and readied ourselves for a climb of 650 steps to reach the peak.
The weather was clement with gentle breeze and overcast conditions, perfect for our ascent. Last time I was in Sharavanbelogola was in 1998 and I could then easily climb the steps without any breaks in between. With confidence that I could do so again, we began our ascent. We were joined by Jawans of Madras Sappers in our climb and could keep pace with them for few minutes. Soon, I started losing steam and was forced to catch my breath. Finally reached the summit, huffing and puffing, taking a total of thirty minutes for the entire climb.
The Darshan of the 58 feet statue of Bahubali, made from single block of granite , was awe inspiring. Built in 981 A.D, it is one of the largest free-standing statues in the world. The proportions of the statue are perfect in every way, and what mesmerized me the most was its face . It reflects the calmness ,serenity and the Kaivalya (Supreme Knowledge) attained by Bahubali. The statue also has linguistic significance with carved inscriptions in Kannada and Tamil, as well as the oldest evidence of written Marathi.
The views from the summit are soothing to the eyes and ideal place for some good photography.
We left Sharavanbelogola to towards Hassan and arrived at Suvarna Regency restaurant around 1:30 PM. The food is excellent almost everywhere in Southern Karnataka and Hassan is no exception. Our overnight stay was booked at KSTDC Mayura Shantala in Haleebedu and arrived there at 3:00 PM amidst overcast conditions and light rain.
After few mins of rest, we stepped into the ancient 12th-century temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It was built by King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala dynasty and is in fairly good shape, though Halebeedu was twice sacked and plundered by the Muslim armies of the Delhi Sultanate. The inner sanctum has two Shivalingas and just outside the sanctum are two enormous Nandhis, around 9 feet high. The outer walls are most fascinating ,which are intricately carved with horizontal band of sculpted decoration. The sculptures narrate events from scriptures like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana. All around the outer walls are the rows of elephants, lions, miniature dancers and horses.
We had hired an authorized guide for INR 300, who in about half an hour showed us the interesting sculptures and gave some background. I recommend, that all those visiting Halebeedu and Belur hire these guides.
On recommendation of our guide, we visited the Jain Basadi complex about one KM from the main temple. There are three temples here dedicated to three Jain Tirthankars; Parshvanatha, Shantinatha and Adinatha. There are hardly any visitors to these Jain temples and one can experience serenity and calmness in its premises.
That night we stayed at KSTDC Mayura Shantala Hotel right opposite to the main Halebeedu temple. The service ,infrastructure and the food are pretty good, and one can consider this for one night stay.
Early next morning, I paid another visit to the main temple. Advantage of early morning visits is that the complex was deserted and the I could walk around admiring the sculptures at my own pace. In the temple complex, is an ASI museum which has artefacts from the main temple. The museum is worth a visit to view and understand more about the temple sculptures.
Around 10:30 AM, we checked out of the hotel and headed towards Belur, about 20 KMS away. The journey was through lush green fields and quite soothing to the eyes. Belur town looked bigger and more prosperous than Halebeedu and we could see numerous shops and restaurants there. There is also a KSTDC hotel here, few meters from the main temple.
The weather had changed slightly and it was drizzling by the time we entered the complex. The walled compound covers huge area and has numerous small and large temples. In addition to Hoysala dynasty, the kings of Vijaynagar empire constructed temples inside the temple complex. The most spectacular addition was the huge Gopuram which is at the entrance and coloured in golden hue.
The main deity of this temple is Chennakesava (“handsome Kesava”) is a form of the Hindu God Vishnu. But the striking features of this temple are the exterior walls, which depict the social themes of the times. There are numerous female figures ,engaged in activities like viewing a mirror, dancing, playing musical instrument etc. The main difference between the temples of Halebeedu and Belur are the motifs of the sculptures. While Heldeedu depicts scenes from religious epics; the economic and festive activities dominate the Belur temple. After viewing other temples in the complex, we bid adieu to Belur. Here too, we had engaged a guide for INR 300, who narrated us the history of the temple and showed us few interesting sculptures.
Around 1:00 PM, we left towards Hassan and after lunch at Hotel Raama ,started on our way back to Mysore. For those who are interested in Hoysalan architecture , there is the famous Panchalingeshwara temple at Govindanahalli. This is just off the Hassan-Mysore highway near the town of Kikkeri. We however , decided to drive on towards Mysore
Around 5:00 PM, we arrived home after an interesting and educational weekend trip. The temples Haleebedu , Belur and Sharavanbelogola of are a must-visit for those interested in Indian history and architecture.
Temples of Karnataka 