Thenginghatta Sri Hoysaleshwara Temple – Karnataka

Address

Thenginghatta Sri Hoysaleshwara Temple – Karnataka

Moolavar

Sri Hoysaleshwara

Introduction

Tenginaghatta is a small village located off the Kikkeri – Madapura road in Mandya District. The grand temple of Lord Hoysaleshwara at Tenginaghatta/Thenginaghatta, built during the reign of the Hoysala kings is today in disarray. An inscription found at the temple premises mentions that this temple and a lake nearby were constructed by ‘Hadavala Kavana’, the son of ‘Hadavala Kolliayya’ during the saka year of 1133 CE, under the Hoysala King Narasimhadeva I.

Puranic Significance

There are four Veeragallus or Hero-stones of which 2 have inscriptions etched on them. The first Veeragallu here is dedicated to ‘Hiriya Hadavala’, son of Kolliayya and the brother of the person who built the Hoysaleshwara temple. The second Veeragallu is dedicated to ‘Hadavala Kavana’. Though the inscription is not very clear, it gives minor details about the hero responsible for temple construction of Tenginaghatta.

The Hoysaleshwara temple is a small and beautiful structure. It consists of a garbhagriha, an open antarala, a navaranga and a damaged mukhamandapa. Unlike major Hoysala temples, the ceiling height of this temple is very low measuring about 7 ft. The garbhagriha houses a Shiva linga and the antarala houses a sapthamatrika murti and a beautiful murti of Hara-Gauri. Hara-Gauri murti sadly remains damaged with the head of the Lord Shiva missing. On the platform/peetha of the murti are sculptures of Lord Ganesha, Nandi, and a Monitor Lizard. Lord Shanmuga seems missing on this peetha, probably indicating this to be a Ganapathi Anugraha murti. The navaranga has 9 ankanas and the central ceiling/bhuvananeshwari houses a beautiful and unique carving of the lotus bud surrounded by 8 lions. The navaranga is supported by 4 lathe turned bell shaped pillars. There is a Bhairava murti and Ganesha murti in the Navaranga. The doorframe of garbhagriha and navaranga are of Pancha shaka without any dwarapalas. The mukhamandapa is completely damaged with only its pillars remaining.

The external wall of the temple is very simple with carvings of pilasters on it. The wall has been damaged badly with a need for urgent restoration. Although the damaged shikhara of this temple has been identified by many scholars as Kadamba nagari or Phamsana, it closely resembles the Dravidian (Outthareya Vimana) styled shikhara of Lord Janardhana temple at Kikkeri.

The structure is completely damaged with only the murti of Kshetrapala standing tall. A little further from this temple is a beautiful lake which was constructed along with this temple. This temple is located outside the village. In village there is a temple dedicated to Lord Anjaneya Swamy, probably belonging to a later period. Overall, this place is rustic and transports one to the erstwhile glory of the land once ruled by the mighty Hoysalas.