Kalleshvara Temple

Getting there

• By train

  Harappanahalli station, code HPHI, is on the single-track Harihar to Hosapete broad-gauge line.

• By road

  The temple is about 9 km from Harappanahalli, and regular buses run from nearby cities. Harappanahalli town is on several state highways and has a Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation bus depot.

Why devotees come here

Kalleshvara Temple is a Shiva temple in Bagali village, near Harappanahalli in Karnataka. Its carved halls, built of soapstone, date from the 10th century, and the Archaeological Survey of India protects it as a monument of national importance.

Kalleshvara Temple is a temple of Shiva in the village of Bagali. The name is also spelled Kallesvara or Kalleshwara. Ancient inscriptions call the village Balgali. The main shrine faces east. Its sanctum, the garbhagriha or innermost shrine, is the Shiva shrine. A large open gathering hall, called the sabhamandapa, comes before the closed hall. The eastern doorway faces the Nandi bull, a companion of Shiva. The southern doorway leads into the closed hall.

Two Kannada dynasties shaped the temple. The Rashtrakuta dynasty ruled in the mid-10th century. The Western Chalukya Empire ruled around 987 CE under its founding king, Tailapa II, also called Ahava Malla. Duggimayya carried out the consecration of the temple.

The open hall has fifty lathe-turned pillars that support a decorated ceiling. Eight small shrines stand around the main shrine, including ones for Surya and Narasimha. The closed hall holds sculptures of Shiva with Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Sarasvati, Surya, Vishnu seated on a snake and Mahishamardini, a form of Durga.

Tips for your visit

• Look closely at the eastern and southern doorways, which have decorated jambs and lintels.
• Walk through the open hall with its fifty pillars, then into the closed hall with its sculptures.

Questions people ask