Sadasiva Temple, Nuggehalli


The Sadasiva Temple was constructed in c.1249 by Bommanna Dandanayaka, a commander in the Hoysala Empire during the rule of King Vira Someshwara. It is located in Nuggehalli,, a town in the Hassan district of Karnataka, India. Located a short distance away in Nuggehalli, and built around the same time is the Lakshmi Narasimha temple. The town was called Vijaya Somanathapura in ancient times and gained importance as an agrahara during the time of Bommanna Dandanayaka. The Sadasiva temple is a fine example of Hoysala nagara style of architecture with Bhumija type superstructure.

Architecture and furnishings

This unusual Hoysala temple combines ekakuta architecture with a nagara styled tower. The shrine's walls and the mantapa have austere appearance, with no sculptural decoration. Yet this temple is considered architecturally important. The temple is built on a jagati and the building material used is Soapstone. It has a large "linga" in its sanctum and an equally large and extremely well carved Nandi in a closed hall with walls that have perforated stone windows. Also unique about this temple is the one of its kind life-size standing image of the goddess Parvati. The images of the navagraha facing each other is another unique feature to be noted. There are two images of the god Ganesha, one outside the sanctum and the other at the entrance to the sanctum housing the goddess Parvati. In the common hall are the intricately carved independent images of deities from the Hindu pantheon that are noteworthy:Chamundeshwari, Subramanya, Ganesha, Kala Bhairava, a set of images depicting the different incarnations of Parvati, and Surya Narayana.

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