Marketing Muse is Closed for Judging

Last weekend, I was on a sightseeing tour of Beluru, Halebeedu, and Shravanabelagola. Located in the Hassan district of Karnataka, these towns rose to prominence during the reign of the Hoysala Emperors in the early part of the first millennium and are witness to a slice of medieval Indian history.

We began the tour with a visit to Beluru, a town famous for the Chennakesava Temple (Chenna means Handsome & Kesava is an avatar of Lord Vishnu). The temple was commissioned by the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana as a tribute to Lord Vishnu in 1117 CE. It took one hundred years to construct and use three generations of workers.

The Chennakesava Temple combines fine architecture, exquisite sculpture, and detailed relief work. Its walls are replete with stories from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas. Despite many attacks by Alauddin Khilji’s army, the temple has retained its splendour and is a living embodiment of resilience.

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Hoysaleshwara twin temple at Halebeedu was also built by King Vishnuvardhana and houses the Hoysaleswara and Santaleswara Shiva Lingas. Like its counterpart in Beluru, it is notable for sculptures, intricate reliefs, detailed friezes, iconography, and inscriptions in North Indian and South Indian scripts.

What the two temples have in exquisiteness, the 58-foot Gomateshwara statue in Shravanabelagola makes up for in size. Dedicated to Baahubali, the son of a Jain Thirthankara, the structure is the world’s largest monolithic statue and one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Jainism.

Thankfully, the weather in Hassan was pleasant. The day we landed, the clouds were on the verge of a cloudburst. Luckily, it did not rain, and as a result, the weather was perfect - neither too warm nor cold. This allowed me to soak in the beauty of Belur, Halebeedu, & Shravanabelagola and appreciate the nuances of their rich history.