Amrutesvara Temple, Amruthapura

decoration (demon faces) on Shikhara'' (tower) at Amruthapura The temple is a built according to Hoysala architecture with a wide open mantapa (hall). The temple has an original outer wall with unique equally spaced circular carvings. The temple has one vimana (shrine and tower) and therefore is a ekakuta design, and has a closed mantapa (hall) that connects the sanctum to the large open mantapa. It is medium-sized Hoysala temple with certain vastu features similar to the Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi in mantapa structure and size. The open mantapa has twenty nine bays, and the closed mantapa has nine bays with a side porch that leads to a separate shrine on the south side. The shrine is square in shape has the original superstructure (shikhara) which is adorned with sculptures of Kirtimukhas (demon faces), miniature decorative towers (aedicule). Below the superstructure, the usually seen panel of Hindu deities is absent. The base of the wall has five mouldings which according to art critic Foekema is an "older Hoysala style". The sukanasi, the tower on top of the vestibule that connects the sanctum to the closed mantapa (the Sukanasi appears like the nose of the superstructure), has the original Hoysala emblem of "Sala" fighting the lion. The rows of shining lathe turned pillars that support the ceiling of the mantapa is a Hoysala-Chalukya decorative idiom. The mantapa has many deeply domed inner ceiling structures adorned with floral designs. The outer parapet wall of the open mantapa has a total of hundred and forty panel sculptures with depictions from the Hindu epics. Unlike many Hoysala temples where the panels are small and carvings in miniature, these panels are comparatively larger. The Ramayana is sculpted on the south side wall on seventy panels, with the story proceeding quite unusually, in anti-clockwise direction. On the north side wall, all depictions are clockwise, a norm in Hoysala architectural articulation. Twenty five panels depict the life of the Hindu god Krishna and the remaining forty five panels depict scenes from the epic Mahabharata. The large stone inscription near the porch contains poems composed by medieval Kannada poet Janna who had the honorific Kavichakravarti (lit, "emperor among poets"). == Gallery ==

File:Profile of shrine in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG|Profile of shrine outer wall with Shikara (tower) at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Mantapa outer wall articulation in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG|Close up of mantapa wall with miniature decorative towers, swirls and flourish in relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Shrine wall relief at Amruteshvara temple in Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district.JPG|Mantapa wall with miniature decorative towers (aedicule) in relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Outer wall relief at Amruteshvara temple in Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district.JPG|Wall relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Wall decoration in relief in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG|Wall relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Close up of outer wall relief at Amruteshvara temple in Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district.JPG|Close up of wall relief at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura Image:Wall Carving at Amrutesvara Temple in Chikkamagaluru district.jpg|Wall relief sculpture of the Amrutesvara temple Image:Battle scene in relief in Amruthesvara Temple at Amruthapura in Chikkamagaluru district.jpg|Wall relief sculpture at the Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Mythological scene from the Hindu legend in relief in the Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG|Wall relief sculpture at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Scene from the Hindu legend in relief in the Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG|Wall relief sculpture at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Perforated window art at mantapa entrance in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG|Perforated window art at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Hindu deity sculpture in the Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura 1.JPG|Hindu deity sculpture at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Domical ceiling art in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura.JPG|Domical ceiling art at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Domical ceiling art in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura 1.JPG|Domical ceiling art at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura File:Domical ceiling art in Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura 6.JPG|Domical ceiling art at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura Image:Wall Sculpture at Amrutesvara Temple in Chikkamagaluru district.jpg|Wall relief sculpture, Amrutesvara temple File:Decorative swirls on mantapa wall at Amruteshvara temple in Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district.JPG|Decorative swirls in bas-relief on mantapa outer wall at Amrutesvara temple, Amruthapura ==Notes==