[iVento]

It had been months since we went on a long drive. Trips were planned, but for various reasons, each one was cancelled at the last minute.

For me, Belur-Halebidu was a long awaited trip. When my friend told me about his plans to visit the temples at Kalasa, Hornadu & Sringeri, immediately we combined our plans.

We have finalized an itinerary like this: Halebidu - Belur - Kalasa - Hornadu - Sringeri

I was relieved from the initial preparations of charting the routes since my friend hailed from Virajpet & was aware of the routes around Chikkamagalur.

We were two families. My friend & his family were in a Dzire ZXi & me with my family in my SunShine VXi.

We started early in the morning at 6:00, 30 minutes behind schedule.

From, north Bangalore, we took Tumkur Road to reach Nelamangala. Soon we hit National Highway 48.

The traffic was very thin and soon we attained good speeds. Driving on NH48 was like butter.


Our first stop was at Kamat Upachar, about 10KM after Channarayapatna. Good tasty food. One catch though, the restaurant comes on the right side of the highway during the onward journey. We had to park the cars in a safe place & cross the highway carefully.


List of Kamat drive-in restaurants in Karnataka & TN displayed at their outlet. Will come handy to you while planning a trip.


NH48 is really a fun to drive. No humps or potholes. Worth the penny you shell out for tolls.


Finally, we reached Halebidu.

Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu

Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu is dedicated to Lord Siva. The construction began in the mid 12th century. It is covered with intricately carved sculptures. Even after 87 years of building, it was never completed because Halebidu was sacked by the Delhi Sultanate. This star-shaped temple is actually a pair of two identical temples with separate sanctuaries and mandapams next to each other. One of the temples has active worship and the other does not.


A beautiful view of the temple complex. The temple has four porches for entry. The one normally used by visitors as main entry is actually a lateral entrance (north).


Well maintained garden




Beautiful carvings of Dwarapalakas of Lord Shiva, at the entrance of the door, richly adorned with ornaments and weapons.




Decorated lathe turned pillars.


We see the long passage covered with various kinds of pillars and perforated screen onto the right. Again, the ceiling is full of details.


As we enter the temple, on the right is Shantaleshwara deity, in the form of a Shiva Linga. The Dwarapalakas are carved with great amount of details.


Nice long view of the temple inside. The interior of the temple is quite plain except for the lathe turned pillars that run in rows between the north and south entrances.


Southside. The most intricate of all sculptures are found in the lintels over on the south side doorway and the other on one of the eastern doorways.


The temple is famous for its minute carvings in black stone. The lower half of the outer wall has stone carved horizontal strips with carvings of Elephants at bottom, Lions in Second layer, Scenes of Story of Mahabharata and Ramayana in third level and Floral Design in fourth level. The upper Part of Outer walls depict statues of Hindu Deities such as Shiva Parvati, Krishna, Vishnu, Varaha Rup, Narsimha etc. My son poses for a photograph in front of the carvings.




Ganesha carving at the South Entrance.


Nice view of the Southern Entrance.


A closer view of the Southern Entrance.

Enjoy some more pictures...

[iVento]

Halebidu Continued...


This small temple adjacent to the main complex and is situated at the south side. When we visited, there were some serious restoration works going on.





There are six railings before the wall images are present. The first railing has Elephants present surrounding the entire temple, the second railing consists of Mystic Lion which is exhibited in many postures.

The third railing consists of Cavalry forces with men and horses dressed in war attire, the fourth railing consists of Makara which is a mystical animal, and the sixth railing consists of Swans which hold set of beads in their beaks. Above the sixth railing the seventh railing consists of Wall images of all Hindu Gods and Goddesses.












In front of the temple there are two Nandi Mantapas which are very beautifully carved.


My son posing for the camera.


A view of Halebidu town & northern entrance to the Hoysaleswara temple complex.


Parking is on the road side. Still you need to pay a fee for it.


SunShine, happily waiting for the owners.

Notes:

• There is adequate parking space available, on the road side, but for a fee!
• No entry charges or camera fee or no camera restrictions.
• I could not find any decent eateries around. So carry your food.
• Water, soft drinks, tender coconuts, fruits are available in plenty.

Next: Chennakesava Temple, Belur

To be continued...

[girimajiananth]

Nice write up , Look forward to Belur details . I wanted to visit Belur - Halebid since a long time . I don't see a lot of people in the pictures. Was it a weekday you visited ?

PS: Loved the "ivento team-bhp.com" on your windscreen.

[iVento]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

Nice write up , Look forward to Belur details . I wanted to visit Belur - Halebid since a long time . I don't see a lot of people in the pictures. Was it a weekday you visited ?

PS: Loved the "ivento team-bhp.com" on your windscreen.

Thanks for your encouraging words, wgirimajiananth.

We visited Halebidu on a Saturday. We reached by around 11AM. In fact had tough time to photograph the temple avoiding the crowd. See the attached image. Very soon there was heavy buildup of crowd, school children, pilgrims, tourists etc. Suggest you to reach there as early as possible.

[mpksuhas]

i Vento, interesting travelogue.
We were planning of a one day trip to Halebidu- Belur from Bangalore next month, details of your trip are helpful in the same.
From your pic of crowd in Halebidu it looks like most of the people are Shabarimala pilgrims, I was of impression that there is no pooja conducted in both Halebidu & Belur temples.

[iVento]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

i Vento, interesting travelogue.
We were planning of a one day trip to Halebidu- Belur from Bangalore next month, details of your trip are helpful in the same.
From your pic of crowd in Halebidu it looks like most of the people are Shabarimala pilgrims, I was of impression that there is no pooja conducted in both Halebidu & Belur temples.

Not all were Sabarimala pilgrims. Incidentally there came a bus full of Ayyappans from Salem, TN. Otherwise, there were many tourists & school children.

There are two temples inside. Like I mentioned earlier, one of the temples has active worship and the other does not.

[narayankumar]

Thanks for the notes and the photos. Reminded me of my trip to Halebidu-Belur about 20 years ago. Quite an impression the architecture and location make on you.

[subs]

Good write up and nice details on the trip. Looking at the road pics, it must have been a dream to drive thru those traffic-less and pothole-less roads for a change!

[shankar.balan]

Let's not call them 'Ayyappans'. Let's do them the courtesy of describing them more politely as Devotees of Lord Ayyappa.

[iVento]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Let's not call them 'Ayyappans'. Let's do them the courtesy of describing them more politely as Devotees of Lord Ayyappa.

Agree that I could have used the phrase "Devotees of Lord Ayyappa". At the same time the word "Ayyappans" is not a derogative term in any manner.

Those who take the 41 days "vrathm" / those who are going on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala are themselves called "Ayyappan".

Every pilgrim call each other by Ayyappan. I myself has visited Sabarimala at least 7 times.

Let's do not create an issue unnecessarily.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Let's not call them 'Ayyappans'. Let's do them the courtesy of describing them more politely as Devotees of Lord Ayyappa.

Mods: Sorry to be OT here

I thought that is what a Devotee of Lord Ayyappa is called once he has commenced the actual journey/pilgrimage with the traditional "irumudi kettu" and leaves his home, until his return. The devotee is expected to treated at par with the Lord in every respect and traditionally in Kerala its considered that the service rendered to a devotee on his way to Sabarimala or back is service to the Lord himself.

The devotees themselves address each other as --------- Ayyappa during the journey (Female devotees as "Malikapurams")

So by calling/addressing them as Ayyappa's is no lack courtesy/ or being impolite at all

Best Regards & drive Safe

Ram

[iVento]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Mods: Sorry to be OT here

I thought that is what a Devotee of Lord Ayyappa is called once he has commenced the actual journey/pilgrimage with the traditional "irumudi kettu" and leaves his home, until his return. The devotee is expected to treated at par with the Lord in every respect and traditionally in Kerala its considered that the service rendered to a devotee on his way to Sabarimala or back is service to the Lord himself.

The devotees themselves address each other as --------- Ayyappa during the journey (Female devotees as "Malikapurams")

So by calling/addressing them as Ayyappa's is no lack courtesy/ or being impolite at all

Best Regards & drive Safe

Ram

Thank you Nair for clarifying this.
This is exactly what I meant.

[shankar.balan]

Note/ intent was not to 'create an issue' as you put it. Just that there is a better description available.
However, I don't wish to argue with either of you, just expressed an opinion. Thanks.

[NPV]

Nice travelogue, excellent pictures, thanks for sharing .
Brought back memories of our trip few years ago.

Nice concept - the handrwritten TBHP Url & handle on the frosted windshield

Where did you stay ? On the way did you visit Shravanabelagola ?

Looking forward to the log for rest of the journey.

[iVento]

Originally Posted by NPV

Nice travelogue, excellent pictures, thanks for sharing .
Brought back memories of our trip few years ago.

Nice concept - the handrwritten TBHP Url & handle on the frosted windshield

Where did you stay ? On the way did you visit Shravanabelagola ?

Looking forward to the log for rest of the journey.

Thanks NPV.

No, we did not go to Shravanabelagola (SBG) because my MiL was accompanying us. Same was the case with my friend. If we had stopped at SBG, then climbing the steps in the hot sun would have been a herculean task for the elders. So purposely we skipped SBG.

That windshield shot was taken at Horanadu at around 6AM. It was very cold there. We stayed in a lodge that is next to the temple & run by the temple authorities themselves. I will write about that when I update the TL.