Architectural Style and Evolution

Architecture & Planning

Take a walk around the temple and you will find that it bears several different architectural styles. As the region around Bengaluru came into the hands of various rulers and dynasties over the centuries, the temple underwent several changes and additions. Inscriptions that might have helped us date the temple precisely have either been concealed by later renovations or did not exist at all. However, a stylistic and structural analysis suggests that the temple was constructed in three main phases. Based on the architectural style and context, Dr SK Aruni of the Indian Council of Historical Research ascribes the inner sanctum and its outer hall to the Cholas, who ruled the region around a thousand years ago. This original structure would have formed the nucleus of a second phase of construction which saw the addition of a concentric path around it. The addition of this pradakshina patha meant that the pranala of the original shrine then had to be rerouted through a chamber below ground towards the exterior. Also notice how the columns here are crudely fashioned. The maha mandapa was built during the 1500s or 1600s. Its tiered stone columns with varying geometries are typical of Vijayanagar-period temples. According to Dr SK Aruni, during this same period, some renovations were carried out in the navranga mandapa of the temple where the original columns were replaced with carved and embellished ones. The compound wall, kalyani and the gopura, which give a sense of grandeur to the temple complex, also likely date from the same period

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