Nuggehalli Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Hassan tourism Channarayapatna Tourism Karnataka tourism Temples of Karnataka.
The Lakshmi Narasimha temple was built in 1246 CE by Bommanna Dandanayaka, a commander in the Hoysala Empire during the rule of King Vira Someshwara. The Hoysala temple is dedicated to Lord Narasimha who is believed to be an avatar of Lord Krishna. The Lakshmi Narasimha temple built in the trikuta (three towers). From outside, the temple actually looks like a ekakuta . The temple is attributed to two well known Hoysala sculptors, Baichoja and Mallitamma. The three shrines contain the images of Venugopala, Keshava and Lakshminarasimha, all avatars of Vishnu. Records say that this place is ancient and was patronized by the Cholas prior to the Hoysala rule. Legend has it that a saint by name Rushbha, performed penance and that the Lord Lakshmi Narasimha appeared before him .
These wonderful temples come under the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and they have classified these as the “Living Temple - Monument”, (which are very few in number) wherein the pooja to the Almighty is being performed uninterrupted from day one. This classification is given to about 50 odd temples in India.
Nuggehalli used to be a flourishing town as seen in the inscription Ch.238. & an ancient place near which the Chola king is said to have constructed a temple of ‘Jayagondeshwara’ & to which the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana gave some grants in 1121 A.D. A number of temples dedicated to ‘Vishnu & his incarnation’ were constructed during the reign of Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana.
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.
The Lakshmi-Narasimha temple is a trikutachala constructed in 1246 AD during the reign of Hoysala Somesvara. The three sanctums house images of Kesava in the west, Lakshmi Narasimha in north and Venugopala in south. On plan, the temple has three sanctums, the western has sukanasi opening into a navaranga, preceded by a large mukhamandapa, a later pillared mandapa and a mahadvara, all set in a prakara in east-west orientation. The main temple, and the later period mandapa, is built on a raised platform. The bhitti is similar to that of Kesava temple at Somnathpur, elegant sculptures are placed shoulder to shoulder under patra-latha torana.
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