Vidyashankara Temple,Sringeri, Karnataka

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Vidyashankara Temple

Shringeri is the site of one of the original Advaitha maths established by Shri Adi Shankara himself.  It has a continuing tradition and recorded history from the eighth century.  Shri Adi Shankara’s disciple Sureshwarachrya was the first head of this math.

The Vidyashankara temple was built in the year of 1338 A.D. The temple has a unique feature of the monuments, which is entirely built of stone combining both Hoysala (Chalukya) and Dravidian architectural styles. The structure stands on a high plinth and commands a magnificent view from the hills and their slopes all round. On the western side of the temple is the Garbhagriha, with Vidya Ganapati on one side and Durga on the other side of the entrance. Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu , Lord Maheshwara appear with their consorts on the other three sides of the Garbhagriha.
On the eastern half of the structure,  is a mandapa with twelve pillars, huge monoliths carrying large figures and carrying heavy projecting corbels on top.  These twelve pillars are represented by the twelve signs of the zodiac, and arranged in their regular order. On the floor is a large circle, marked with converging lines to indicate the direction of the shadows. The central ceiling is an exquisite piece of workmanship with lotus and pecking parrots.
The vimana over the Garbhagriha rises magnificiently with sikhara, mahapadma and stupi. The rest of the roof is made up of sloping channelled slab. The basement is elaborately sculpted with animals, puranic stories, Shiva, Vishnu, Dasavatara, Kali, Shanmukha and so on.  From the caves of the corners of the central hall, chains of stone rings hang which is a common feature of the Vijayanagar period.

This temple is very large store house of the scupltures. The meditation of the Linga (Vidya Shankara Linga) in the sanctum and other Murtis will lead to divine realization.
Vidyatirtha Rathotsava (car festival) is celebrated on a grand scale, during Kartika Shukla paksha. The festival spans for seven days from Tritiya to Navami. On the Saptami day, His Holiness performs special pooja. The Aradhana of Shri Vidya Shankara is also performed on sashti, saptami and ashtami.

 This temple is under the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, owing to its architectural marvel.

This temple also houses a broken sandalwood idol of Sharadamba, believed to have been installed in the Sharadamba temple, by Adi Shankara Himself. This idol, it is believed, was damaged during the Muslim invasion, and Shri Vidyaranya had the current gold statue of Sharadamba installed in its place

Mahakuta Temple, Badam in Bagalkot

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Mahakuta Temple near Badam in Bagalkot district.

Shri Mahakuta temple is a group of the temple that is dedicated to the Lord Shiva. It is an important place of worship for Hindus and the location of a well-known Shaiva monastery.  These temples were constructed by the early kings of the Chalukya dynasty of Badami, during the period of the 6th-7th century.


In the period of 7th century, Karnataka artisans achieved certain eclecticism, in their architectural styles.

 A natural mountain spring flows within the temple complex and feeds fresh water into a large tank called the Vishnu Pushkarni ("Lotus pool of god Vishnu") and an ablution tank called Papavinasha Tirtha ("Tank of Ablution").  There is a small shrine in the centre of the Vishnu Pushkarni tank and in it is a Shiva linga (universal symbol of god Shiva) called Panchamukha Linga ("five faced  Linga"), one face for each direction and one on top.
There are around two dozen Shiva temples in a huge temple complex surrounding an attractive spring fed tank known as Vishnu Pushkarini.

The Mahakuteswara and the Mallikarjuna temples are the largest of the Mahakuta group of temples

Mahakuta also provides historians with two important inscriptions.
The first one is a pillar inscription called DharmaVijayastambha. It dates back to Pulakesi I and records a grant of ten villages made by his queen Durlabhadevi to Lord Mahakuteswara.  Interestingly, the villages include Pattadakal and Aihole. This inscription also records some details about the Chalukya lineage and their military expeditions and achievements.

The other inscription, recorded on the porch of the Mahakuteswara temple, speaks of a grant of rubies and silver umbrella, to the Lord by a concubine of Vijayaditya, named Vinapoti.

These temples were built by the Badami Chalukyas, and reflect the Aihole style of temple building. The Chalukya style is a hybrid of the Nagara and Dravidian styles. The temples have tiered or curvilinear towers over the sanctum.

The most important temple here is the Mahakuteswara temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It has a Shiva Linga in the shrine, topped by a curvilinear tower.  It is built in the Dravidian style.  In the temple courtyard, there are several other small temples.  There is a Nandi in front. The wall niches are decorated with carvings of various forms of Lord Shiva.  There is a natural spring-fed tank inside the temple complex called Vishnu Pushkarani.

The Mallikarjuna temple on the other side of the tank is very similar to the Mahakuteswara temple.  It has beautiful carvings on the walls and on the ceilings.