Unlike the wall surrounding the
Attached to the outer wall are massive pillars with sculptural reliefs of gods and goddesses and other deities and do not appear to be carved in any particular order or following any storyline.
Because the temple is dedicated to Vishnu, the majority of the reliefs are related to Vishnu, which includes the standard iconography of Vishnu depicting him with four hands, each with his signature objects, Vishnu with his consort Lakshmi on his lap, and some of Vishnu’s ten avatars.
Shiva and his consort Durga also have many reliefs depicting the story of their incarnations. Brahma, on the other hand, appears only in one pillar. The other deities include Manmatha (Vishnu’s son) and his wife Rathi, and Ganesha (Shiva’s son). There is also a relief depicting Ravana shaking Mount Kailash.
South Side Wall
The orientation of the wall on the south side of the temple changes from east-west to north-south. For the sake of simplicity, the description of the wall is divided into the following four sections: 1. East section 2. Middle section 3. Southwest Section 4. Rear Section
The carving is much denser on the south-side wall than the north-side and the south side has more variety of sculptural reliefs.
East Section
This is where the wall around the garbhagriha starts and is attached to the Navaranga wall.

Oriented along the north-south direction, this section of the wall is flatter compared to the other sections. It is carved with beautiful sculptural reliefs with Vishnu as the theme. The relief on the rightmost pillar depicts Lakshmi Narayana, i.e., Vishnu sitting with his consort Lakshmi on his lap. Below them is his vehicle Garuda in the kneeling position with folded hands.
The relief to the right of Lakshmi Narayana is Vishnu portrayed with four hands carrying his signature objects, Gada, Chakra, Shanka, and Padma. The relief on the pillar next to it depicts Harihara, i.e., Vishnu and Shiva fused as a single entity with Vishnu’s feature on the right part and Shiva’s on the left part. Carved on the Vishnu’s side is his vehicle Garuda, and on the Shiva’s side is his vehicle Nandi the bull.
The rest of the reliefs depict the standard iconography of Vishnu.
Mid Section
The section of the wall shown in the image is oriented along the east-west direction. On the right side, it is attached to another section of the wall shown in the previous section. On the left side, it is attached to the wall of the chariot-like shrine.
The middle part of the square pillars and the wall in between the pillars are carved with sculptural reliefs. There is a round pillar that has no carvings except for a small figure at the bottom. The reliefs on the wall to the left and right of this pillar are related to Shiva. The relief on the right side depicts Shiva slaying Andakasura and the relief on the left side depicts Kali, an incarnation of Shiva’s consort Parvati.
The relief on the squarish pillar portrays Vishnu with four hands, each carrying his signature objects. Another Vishnu relief is carved on the wall to its left. The next square pillar on the left has two sides, each of which has reliefs of some unknown deities. The relief on the corner pillar attached to the shrine depicts Ravana shaking Mount Kailash, where Shiva is resting with his consort Parvati.

Southwest Section
This is the section between the south shrine and the west shrine and the most interesting one from the sculptural reliefs point of view.

Brahma
In Hindu mythology, Brahma is responsible for the creation and is one of the Trimurti (Hindu Trinity) and the other two being Vishnu and Shiva. He is typically shown with four heads, each facing a cardinal direction, and four hands.
As you can see from the image, Brahma has three heads (the assumption is that the fourth head [facing east] is not visible), and four hands, two on each side, and each carrying an object.
He is carrying a spoon (used for pouring ghee into the
Although Brahma is the creator in Hindu mythology, he is not worshiped as widely as Vishnu or Shiva. There are very few temples dedicated to Brahma in the world. The Brahma Temple in Prambanan (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) is one of the few temples dedicated to Brahma. The other well-known Brahma Temple is in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.
There are several legends why Brahma is not worshiped. According to one legend, his consort Savitri, who was angered by Brahma’s extreme lust, cursed him not to be worshiped anywhere in the world except in Pushkar. In another legend, Shiva cursed Brahma because he lied to him and Vishnu about their creation.
Narasimhavatara
The Narasimhavatara relief is carved on a pillar attached to the exterior wall surrounding the
In this avatar, Vishnu has the torso of a man and face and claws of a lion. He adopted this body to kill an asura named Hiranyakashipu, who wanted to take revenge on Vishnu for killing his brother Hiranyaksha in his previous avatar, i.e., Varahavatara. Here is the story of Narasimhavatara in brief:
To exact revenge for his brother’s death, Hiranyakashipu performs an intense
The relief depicts Vishnu with the lion head and human torso having multiple hands with claws. With the body of Hiranyakashipu lying on his lap, Vishnu is seen ripping the entrails of Hiranyakashipu with his claws.

Gajasura
The relief shown in the image depicts Gajasurasamhara, which means the slaying of a demon named Gajasura. In Sanskrit, gaja means elephant, asura means demon, and samhara means slaying.
The Gajasura story is described in two ancient Indian texts, Kurma Purana and Varaha Purana. Here is the story in brief:
Gajasura wants to take revenge for the slaying of his father Mahishausura by Shiva’s consort Durga. To fulfill his wish, he goes the Himalayas and performs
As you can see from the image, Shiva with a dancing pose is standing on an elephant head and with his numerous hands carrying a variety of objects that include
Bhairava
In Hindu mythology, Bhairava is a fierce form of Shiva created by himself to destroy both the internal and external enemies. His sculptural depictions indicate the fierceness of his physical presence.
As you can see from the image, Bhairava is standing with a fearsome stance. Although he is a digambara (i.e., wearing no clothes), he is wearing a variety of jewelry, including necklaces, anklets, armbands and udiyana (waistband). He is also wearing the yajnopavita, a looped thread sacred to Hindus worn across the chest from the left shoulder to the waist.
He is wearing a crown made of a garland of kapalas (skull cups), and another set of kapalas is hanging from one of his necklaces. Surrounding is legs are two coiled nagas (serpents) with one visible head.
With one of his left hands, Bhairava is carrying a severed-head belonging to Brahma. According to a legend, Brahma used to have five heads, four of which facing the cardinal directions and the fifth head gazing upwards. Shiva cut off the fifth head when he realized Brahma became infatuated with a female goddess he created. Bhairava’s other hands are holding a variety of objects that include a
West Section
The image shows the west side of the temple surrounding the garbhagriha (inner sanctum). As you can see from the image, there is a two-storied mini-shrine at the center.
The star-shaped roof is supported by pillars on the right and left of this mini shrine with sculptural reliefs. The temple is built on a platform named Jagati, which is also star-shaped. There is a small shrine built on the floor exactly at the center.

North Side Wall
The north side wall is similar to the south side, but has less denser carvings.
Chariot-like Shrine
As you can see from the image, a statue of Vishnu is standing inside the inner sanctum. Each story of this shrine has a balcony with beautifully decorated balustrades. The water from the shrine drops into a small tank made of stone. A small statue of Ganesha, Shiva’s son the head of an elephant, is placed below the second-floor balcony.
Notice the three layers of beautifully carved frieze below the first floor. The bottom layer is a row of elephants, the middle layer is a row of lions with some men fighting them, and the top layer is a row of people riding horses. It is interesting to note that no two carvings in a row are alike.
The shrine is flanked by two squarish pillars. The left pillar has a relief of Vishnu and the right pillar depicts Shiva slaying Andakasura.

Mid Section
The section of the wall shown in the image is on the north side of the temple and is oriented in the east-west direction. On the right side, it is attached to the wall of the chariot-like shrine.
The square pillar standing on the right side exposes the front and left sides.
The relief on the wall between the Varahavatara and this round pillar replicates a bracket figure that depicts a lady trying to chase a monkey that is trying to pull her dress. The relief on the wall to the right of the round pillar depicts a beautiful lady holding a flower with the right hand and the head of a child with the left hand. There is another child on her left side. This wall is then attached to a section that is part of the Navaranga.

Varahavatara
Varaha is the third of the ten avatars of Vishnu. Varaha in Sanskrit means wild boar. In this avatar, he assumes the form of a wild boar and rescues Bhudevi (Mother Earth) from an evil demon named Hiranyaksha, who was tormenting her.
As you can see from the image, Vishnu as Varaha is lifting Bhudevi with his tusks while Hiranyaksha lay dying on the ground killed by Vishnu.
The story of Varahavatara is a popular theme in both Chalukya and Hoysala temples. Both the Chennakeshava and the Hoysalesvara temples have several reliefs carved on their walls. The Badami caves also have numerous carvings of Varahavatara.
Corner Pillar

Left Section

Rathi-Manmatha
The image shows a relief depicting Manmatha and his consort Rathi. Manmatha, who is known by many names, including Kamadeva, is a son of Vishnu and the Hindu god of love and desire. As you can see from the image, Manmatha is holding a sugarcane bow with his left hand and the floral arrows with his right hand.
Related Pages
– Somanathapura Keshava Temple – A Masterpiece of Hoysala Temple Art
– Belur Chennakeshava Temple – Bracket Figures
– Belur Chennakeshava Temple – Navaranga
– Belur Chennakeshava Temple – Kappe Chennigaraya Shrine
– Hampi Virupaksha Temple Murals
Copyright © 2019 – 2021 by Lawrence Rodrigues. All rights reserved.