Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Bhadravati

Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, dedicated to an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, was built by the Hoysalas in the early 13th century. It is located in Bhadravati, an industrial town and taluk in the Shimoga District of Karnataka state, India. It is situated at a distance of about 255 km from the state capital Bangalore and at about 20 km from the district headquarters Shimoga. The art historian Adam Hardy categorizes the architectural style as a triple shrine (vimana) construction with two "exceptional" stellate forms, one for the shrine facing west and one for the shrines facing north and south, the basic building material being Soap stone. The temple stands on a jagati and the outer wall exhibits a two tier decorative plan. The monument is protected by the Karnataka state division of Archaeological Survey of India.Temple planAccording to art historian Gerard Foekema, being a triple vimana construction it qualifies as a trikuta, which less commonly exhibits a tower one each of the three shrines. The temple is built on a jagati which serves the purpose of pradakshinapatha as the shrine has no such arrangement in Hoysala temples. The entrance to the temple is through an open pillared hall or porch followed by a closed hall . The porch consists of an awning supported by lathe turned half pillars and parapets on either side. The inner wall of the shrine is square and plain where as the outer wall is stellate with numerous recesses and projections that are used for decorative relief. The closed central hall which has no windows connects to the three sanctum via a vestibule . The vestibule also as a tower which looks like a low protrusion of the main tower over the shrine. The outer wall of the vestibule is decorative but inconspicuous because it appears like a short continuation of the shrine outer wall. The ceiling of the closed hall is supported by lathe turned pillars.