Three brothers, three temples

At Koravangala in Hassan district, we discover Hoysala temples with inscriptions, sculptures and a sibling saga

There is something about a railway track that makes you want to stop midway through your journey. We were driving through a few nondescript villages outside Hassan, when we were distracted by a never-ending track that cut through the fields and seemed to head nowhere.

Our destination, however, was Koravangala, and we were looking for the three ancient Hoysala temples built by three brothers.

As we resumed our journey, we looked across the yellow-green fields, and saw the outline of a temple at a distance. A dry lake had a few sculptures strewn around. And there stood a Dvikuta monument, with two shrines facing each other. Soon, we were mobbed by kids who were playing marbles inside the premises. The 12th Century temple, dedicated to Shiva (Buceswara), is said to have been built by a wealthy officer Bucci during the reign of king Veera Ballalla II. The kids brought the local guide who told us that the temple was built after Bucci won a war against the Cholas, even though he had lost his sons in the battle.

However, the inscriptions in the temple says that Bucci and his two brothers vied with each other to build the most beautiful Shiva temple in Koravangala, within a span of 15 years. And, while Bucci's Buceswara Temple survived the test of time, those built by his older brothers Govinda and Naka are today in ruins. Walking around Buceswara Temple, with a huge caravan of kids behind us, we saw some of the most interesting sculptures ever in a Hoysala temple — a food chain, for instance, which showed animals feeding on the other. The Hoysala crest, depicting the Sala, stood on top, and we were told that the kalasa was original.

As we entered the shrine, the kids brought a torchlight, and in the dim light, we saw the cells containing a Shiva Linga and a cult figure of Surya placed opposite each other. A lone Bhairava stood among other sculptures, while a revolving Nandi was placed in front of the Linga. While we marvelled at the workmanship, the guide told us about a belief — that one could make a wish, and if the stone slab holding the Nandi moved smoothly, one's wish would come true.

We left the temple and headed towards the ruins of the other two monuments. The pillars and sculptures looked exquisite, even though they were covered by the dense growth of shrubs, with cows and pigs feeding on them. We returned to Bucci's temple and sat quietly, lost in thought — till the sound of a distant train interrupted our reverie…

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