Chennakesava Temple, Somnathpura

Chennakesava Temple at Somnathpur is one of the masterpiece of Hoysala architecture. The temple within the high walled enclosure is entered through a porch supported by tall lathe-turned pillars. 

The construction of temple was initiated by Soma, a commander-in-chief of Hoysala king Narasimha III in 1268 A.D. The arhitect and sculptor of the temple was Ruvari Malithamma.

The temple built on a platform is a triple shrine with independent tower on top. The three towers are connected by a common rectangular closed mantapa. There is a gallery with lathe-turned pillars all along the enclosure of the temple complex.

This magnificent temple is built in soapstone. The outer wall of the temple has well decorated reliefs and friezes, with pierced windows screens above them.

Each shrine has 16 pointed star-shaped pattern and towers follow the same pattern. This decorated projections and recesses enhance the beauty of the temple. On the exterior the tower and and the walls have been carved with beautiful sculptures.

There are six moldings at the base of the outer walls divided into two sections. The lower section there is a orderly placement of friezes. Lower most is procession of elephants, above it horsemen in the second and a band of foliage in the third. In the upper section, the upper band has swans and lowest band has scenes from the Hindu epics and middle band has yalis.

The ceiling of the hall is supported by lathe turned pillars. The ceiling is intricately decorated with beautiful designs.

Indian Mynah at Somnathpur

When we were in Somnathpur to visit the ancient Chennakeshav Temple we could spot many common birds. One of them is Indian Mynah.

It is an omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct. It has adapted extremely well to urban environments. 

Somnathapura

Somanathapura is a small village located 35 km from the historic town Mysore. It is often referred as poor cousin of Belur and Halebidu the places known for more famous temples of Hosyala period.

In the ancient times the Hoysala's were the major power in South India and they has built many temples during their reign. One among them is the extraordinary Chennakeshava Temple in the area.

Since it is a remote village one could also see here lot of birds.

The other tourist places near by are:

• Mysore
• Talakad
• Shivansamudra
• Srirangapatan

A Short Trip

It is hot summer here and for kids schools are closed for vacation. As I had not planned for any holiday in advance no bookings were done either by flight or train. So only option left for us was to drive down by car to where ever we wanted to go. 

As it is summer here we decided on a trip to hill station. It is a short trip of 5 days covering temples, palace and cool locales of hill station. We stated from Bangalore on 1st of May and headed to Mysore. On the way we visited temples at Somnathpur and Talakad. We were in Mysore by the afternoon and visited the palace after a brief rest. We visited this palace again for kids even though we were here earlier.

On 2nd May we left early morning for Najangud to visit an old temple. We were in Ooty, the "Queen of Hills" by 11 a.m via Bandipur, Madumalai and Masangudi enjoying our drive through the forest. It was delight watching the birds and animals in the forest. This road is through the 36 hair-pin curves up the hill.

After Checking into the hotel we drove to Coonoor another hill station nearby. We were back in Ooty in the evening after visiting gardens and couple view points. Next day 3rd May was dedicated to Ooty for tour of gardens and viewpoints. In the afternoon we had the company of rain.

Next day morning on 4th May we visited some more places in Ooty including boating in the lake. We left this place by 11 a.m for Mysore after seeing some of places on the way. This time we took a different route to Mysore via Gudalur, Madumalai and Bandipur. On 5th May we visited Karanji lake and zoo before starting on our way back to Bangalore.