Belur, Chennakeshava Temple, beauty and mirror

The Chennakesava Temple, originally called Vijayanarayana Temple, was built on the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur. Chennakesava (lit, "handsome Kesava") is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Belur, which was an early Hoysala capital is in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. Belur is well known for its marvelous temples built during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty. These temple complexes have been proposed to be listed under UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The temple was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 AD. The Hoysalas employed many noted architects and artisans who developed a new architectural tradition, which art critic Adam Hardy called the Karnata Dravida tradition. In all 118 inscriptions have been recovered from the temple complex, covering the period 1117 AD to the 18th century, giving historians details of the artists employed, grants made to the temple and renovations committed during later times.

The main entrance to the complex is crowned by a Rayagopura (superstructure over entrance) built during the days of the Vijayanagar empire. Within the complex, the Chennakesava temple is at the centre, facing east, and is flanked by the Kappe Channigraya temple on its right, and a small Sowmyanayaki (form of the goddess Lakshmi) temple set slightly back. On its left, also set slightly back is the Ranganayaki (Andal) temple. Two main sthambha (pillar) exist here. The pillar facing the main temple, the Garuda (eagle) sthambha was erected in the Vijayanagar period while the pillar on the right, the Deepa sthambha (pillar with lamp) dates from the Hoysala period. The Chennakesava temple has three entrances and their doorways have decorated sculptures called dvarapalaka (doorkeepers) on either side. While the Kappe Channigraya temple is smaller than the Chennakesava temple, it is architecturally significant, though it lacks any sculptural features. The Kappe Chennigraya temple became a dvikuta (two shrined temple) with the later addition of a shrine to its original plan. The original shrine has a star-shaped plan while the additional shrine is a simple square. The image inside is also that of Kesava (a form of the god Krishna) and was commissioned by Shantala Devi, the noted queen of King Vishnuvardhana.

This is the first great Hoysala temple, though according to the art critic and historian Settar, the artistic idiom and signature is still Western Chalukyan. Hence, the over-decoration which is seen in later Hoysala temples (including the Hoysaleswara temple at Halebidu and the Keshava temple at Somanathapura) is not visible here. According to Settar, during later years, the Hoysala art took an inclination towards craftsmanship, with a weakness for minutia.

There are 42 madanikas (Salabhanjika – celestial damsels) in the temple complex, one each on the four central pillars inside the hall and the remaining 38 are outside, between the eaves on the outer walls of the hall. Salabhanjika or Shalabhanjika refers to the sculpture of a woman, displaying stylized feminine features, standing near a tree and grasping a branch. They are also called shilabalika and represent the ideal female form. They are depicted in various forms, such as dancers, musicians and drummers, and are rarely erotic in nature. Some madanikas that usually are popular with tourists are the Darpana Sundari (lit,"beauty with mirror"), "The lady with the parrot", "The huntress" and Bhasma mohini.