‘The Sacred Ensembles’ of the Hoysalas

Published: 21st Sep, 2023

Context

Recently, the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, which includes three temples in Karnataka, has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

With this several other sites has also been nominated to get included in the list.

About the recent nominations:

At the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the UNESCO has released a tentative list of sites.
The Hoysala Temples will be India’s 42nd UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan, the university town in West Bengal, was also included as a world heritage site.

The Hoysala Temples:

The Hoysala Temples, built in the 12th and 13 centuries by the Hoysala kings, are dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu.
The three temples include;
- The Chennakeshava temple, the main temple in the complex at Belur (Hassan district), located at the centre of the traditional settlement
- The Hoysaleswara Temple on the banks of Dwarasamudra tank in Halebidu (Hassan district), and
- The Keshava Temple at the centre of Somanathapura village (Mysore district).

Previously, two other groups of monuments of Karnataka at Hampi (1986) and Pattadakal (1987) along with the Ecological hotspot Western Ghats (2012) had the coveted status form UNESCO from the State.

The excellence of the sculptural art underpins the artistic achievement of these temple complexes, which represent a significant stage in development of Hindi architecture.

Hoysala Kingdom:

The Hoysala rulers ruled over parts of Southern India from the parts of Southern India from the 11th Century to the 14th Century.

Hoysala Empire	Details
Area of Rule	Karnataka and Kaveri delta in present-day Tamil Nadu.
Time Period	Between the 10^th and the 14^thcenturies.
Preceded by	Western Chalukyas
Succeeded by	Vijaynagara Empire
Founder	Nripakama II/Sala
Most important ruler	Bittaga Vishnuvardhana. Annexed Chola province of Gangawadi.Defeated Chalukya Vikramaditya VI
Capital	Initially Belur. Later- Halebidu
Administration	Divided into provinces: Nadu, Vishaya, Kampana and Desha
Remarkable for	Art, Architecture, and Religion. Hoysala Architecture
Literature	Kannada and Sanskrit.
Important Temples	Chennakeshava Temple, Belur; the Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu; Chennakesava Temple
Architecture	Hybrid or vesara style
Learning Schools	Ghatikas
Religion	Jainism, Vaishnavism and Lingayatism
Contemporary	Basava, Madhvacharya and Ramanuja in Karnataka
Rajaditya	Mathematician who wrote Vyavaharaganita and Lilavati during Vishnuvardhana’s reign
Last Ruler	Veera Ballala III

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‘The Sacred Ensembles’ of the Hoysalas