Saumyakeshava Temple, Nagamangala

The Saumyakeshava temple at Nagamangala was constructed in the 12th century by the rulers of the Hoysala empire. Nagamangala is a town in the Mandya district of Karnataka state, India. It is located 62 km from the historically important town Mysore, on the Srirangapatna-Sira highway. Historically, Nagamangala came into prominence during the rule of Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana when it became an important center of Vaishnava faith and received patronage from one of his queens, Bommaladevi. During the rule of Veera Ballala II, Nagamangala prospered as an agrahara and had the honorific Vira Ballala Chaturvedi Bhattaratnakara. The temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.Temple planAccording to art historian Adam Hardy, the basic plan of the shrine is stellate . It stands on a platform called jagati and is constructed with Soap stone material. According to historian Percy Brown this is a Hoysala innovation. Overall, the temple exhibits the nagara features seen in a few other Hoysala temples such as in the Sadasiva Temple, Nuggehalli. According to art historians Gerard Foekema and Percy Brown, nagara features are seldom seen in Hoysala temples. The temple is a large structure and has received patronage by multiple dynasties and reveals features of the later day Vijayanagara empire whose rulers added the entrance and tower over it and bounding walls . Some post-Vijayanagara features are also visible. The tower over the entrance is a 7-story tall lime and brick structure that is adorned by Hindu gods, goddesses and other decorative structures in stucco.