Belur Sri Chennakeshava Temple

Highly gracious, pleasant and inspiring

The Chennakesava Temple originally called Vijayanarayana Temple built on the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur, served as an early capital of the Hoysala Empire. Belur sits 40 km from Hassan city and 220 km from Bangalore, in Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. Chennakesava means “handsome Kesava.” The Hoysalas earned renown for their temple architecture, the Chennakesava Temple in the capital city of Belur representing of the foremost examples. UNESCO has proposed the temple site, along with the Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu, for designation as a World Heritage site. The Hoysala Empire of southern India prevailed during the tenth to fourteenth centuries C.E., with its capital in Belur at first. The empire covered most of modern Karnataka, parts of Tamil Nadu and parts of western Andhra Pradesh in Deccan India. Hoysala architecture, like displayed in Chennakesava Temple, developed from the Western Chalukya style with Dravidian influences. The style of architecture is known as Karnata Dravida, a unique expression of Hindu temple architecture distinguished by exacting attention to detail and exceptionally skilled craftsmanship