Aloha,
Sunday’s are usually our days for exploring, a full day of exploring. One of the sites that we visited on a Sunday was Chennakesava Temple. This was by far my favorite temple because it looked so vintage and detailed. It was only Krupa, Ru and I who went exploring. Kim was tired and wanted to stay home and rest. Our driver came at 11am to pick us up, he came about 30 minutes early though so we were all trying to rush so he didn’t have to wait for a long time. The drive to the temple was about an hour. It was a very pretty drive though, I love these long drives where we get to see different parts of India. We saw a lot of the countryside on the way. People working in the field, women carrying the baskets on their head, people gathering their cattle, and others doing laundry. When we got there we were surprised that we had to pay to enter. We thought that temples were free to enter so we were all shocked. We left our slippers by the entrance, you are not allowed to wear them in temples or Palaces.
This temple was absolutely breathtaking. The detail that was carved on the exterior and interior of the temple was mind blowing! Every inch of this temple had carvings of elephants, the gods, and a variety of different designs. This is a 13th century Hindu temple, however, the temple has been damaged and repaired throughout many centuries which is why some of the stones are darker than others. The temple is dedicated to the god Vishnu, and was created by a general of the Hoysalas. The temple was finished at 1268 AD. It is a Trikuta, known as a 3 shrine temple where each shrine is for the 3 forms of Vishnu. Inside of the 3 shrines are statues that are to represent Keshava, Janardhana, and Venugopala. These are the names of Lord Krishna who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. I love the history of these temples, so much thought and meaning goes on to create these temples.
The carvings on the exterior of the temple was just amazing to me though. I cannot believe people in the 13th century were capable of doing this extraordinary detail. Although, the carvings were of elephants or gods, each one looked a little different which is expected because more than one person was carving so they wouldn’t all be the exact same. The detail wrapped along the whole temple, all the way from the top to the bottom. I also really liked the shape of the temple. It was so unique, I have never seen a temple with that structure. I guess I have never seen a Trikuta before though, so maybe they are all similar, not sure. However, I am a fan of this particular temple, I would definitely recommend this temple to others. I would also recommend doing research on the temple before you go. I wish I did so I could understand the structure and meaning of the temple. I did all my research after I visited but I wish I knew it all while I was walking through the temple.
Mahalo,
Maddie
Life in Mysore, India 