View source for Kalleshvara Temple, Ambali

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Kalleshvara Temple
| native_name             =
| native_name_lang        =
| other_name              =
| nickname                =
| settlement_type         = Hindu temple
| image_skyline           = Kalleshvara temple (1083 AD) at Ambali.JPG
| image_alt               =
| image_caption           = Kalleshwara temple (1083) at Bagali in [[Bellary district]]
| pushpin_map             = <!--India Karnataka-->
| pushpin_label_position  = right
| pushpin_map_alt         =
| pushpin_map_caption     = Location in Karnataka, India
| coordinates             =
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1       = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Karnataka]]
| subdivision_type2       = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[Vijayanagara District]]
| established_title       = <!-- Established -->
| established_date        =
| founder                 =
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| government_type         =
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| unit_pref               = Metric
| area_footnotes          =
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| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_demonym      =
| population_footnotes    =
| demographics_type1      = Languages
| demographics1_title1    = Official
| demographics1_info1     = [[Kannada]]
| timezone1               = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1             = +5:30
| postal_code_type        = <!-- [[Postal Index Number|PIN]] -->
| postal_code             =
| registration_plate      =KA
| website                 = {{URL|karnataka.gov.in}}
| iso_code                = [[ISO 3166-2:IN|IN-KA]]
| footnotes               =
}}
The '''Kalleshvara''' temple (also spelt '''Kalleshwara''' or '''Kallesvara''') is located in the town of Ambali in [[Bellary district]] of [[Karnataka]] state, [[India]]. According to an [[Old Kannada]] inscription (dated 1083) placed in the ''sabhamantapa'' (''lit'', "gathering hall"), the temple was constructed during the reign of the [[Western Chalukya Empire]] King [[Vikramaditya VI]] (also called Tribhuvana Malla).<ref name="ambali">{{cite web|url=http://asibengalurucircle.org/bellary-1.html|title=Kallesvara Swamy Temple|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle|publisher=ASI Bengaluru Circle|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917034319/http://asibengalurucircle.org/bellary-1.html|archive-date=17 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> This temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]].<ref name="protected">{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_karnataka_bangalore.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments - Karnataka -Bangalore, Bangalore Circle, Karnataka|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|access-date=10 July 2012}}</ref>
==Temple plan==
Art historian Adam Hardy categorizes the architectural style of the temple as "12th century, trans-Tungabhadra branch of the Lakkundi school, related to Kuruvatti (Mallikarjuna temple) with some non-mainstream affinities". The temple is a single shrine (''[[vimana]]'') construction with an adjoining hall (''[[mantapa]]''). The basic building material is [[Soap stone]]. The original superstructure over the shrine is lost.<ref name="stone">Hardy (1995), p.320</ref>
The temple which faces east comprises a sanctum (''[[garbhagriha]]''), an antechamber (or [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] or ''[[antarala]]'' whose tower is called the ''sukhanasi'') that connects the sanctum to a gathering hall (''sabhamantapa'') which is preceded by a main hall (''mukha[[mantapa]]'').<ref name="ambali"/> The walls of the shrine and the ''sabhamantapa'' are articulated with projections and recesses creating niches which carry miniature decorative tower or turrets ([[Aedicula]]) in ''[[vesara]]'' style (a fusion of south and north Indian styles).<ref name="ambali"/> The [[doorjamb]] of the sanctum and antechamber are crafted with decorative [[motif (visual arts)|motif]]s, and the [[lintel]] (''lalata'') depicts [[Gajalakshmi]] (the Hindu goddess [[Lakshmi]] flanked by elephants on either side). The square bases of pillars in the ''sabhamantapa'' and ''mukhamantapa'' have the characteristic decoration with reliefs, depicting various Hindu [[deity|deities]] such as [[Surya]] (the sun god), [[Bhairava]] (a version of the god [[Shiva]]) and [[Durga]].<ref name="ambali"/>
==See also==
* [[Kalleshwara Temple, Hire Hadagali]]
* [[Kalleshvara Temple, Bagali]]
== Notes ==
{{reflist|1}}
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Old Kannada inscription (1083 AD) in Kalleshvara temple at Ambali.JPG| Old Kannada inscription of King Vikramaditya VI dated 1083 in open hall of Kalleshvara temple at Ambali
File:Door Jamb relief in Kalleshvara temple at Ambali.JPG|Doorjamb relief in Kalleshvara temple at Ambali
File:Kalleshvara temple shrine and tower at Ambali.JPG|''[[Vesara]]'' vimana (shrine and tower or ''[[shikhara]]'') at Kalleshvara temple, Ambali
File:Ornate mantapa(hall) pillars in Kalleshvara temple at Ambali.JPG|Ornate ''mantapa'' (hall) and lathe turned  pillars with decorative base containing relief
</gallery>
== References ==
{{commons category|Kalleshvara Temple, Ambali}}
*{{cite web|url=http://asibengalurucircle.org/bellary-1.html|title=Kallesvara Swamy Temple|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Bengaluru Circle|publisher=ASI Bengaluru Circle|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917034319/http://asibengalurucircle.org/bellary-1.html|archive-date=17 September 2014|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_karnataka_bangalore.asp|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments - Karnataka -Bangalore, Bangalore Circle, Karnataka|work=Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts|access-date=10 July 2012}}
*Adam Hardy, Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation : the Karṇāṭa Drāviḍa Tradition, 7th to 13th Centuries, Abhinav, 1995, New Delhi, {{ISBN|81-7017-312-4}}.
{{coord missing|Karnataka}}
[[Category:Hindu temples in Vijayanagara district]]
[[Category:11th-century Hindu temples]]