HERITAGE WALK

 

HERITAGE WALK OF THE ROYAL ROUTE 

 The Chandramauleshwara Temple, sometimes referred to as                 the Candramauḷĩśvara or Chandramouleshwara temple at Unkal, is an 11th-century Shiva temple with Chalukyan architecture in Unkal (Hubballi), Karnataka, India. The temple has a square plan architecture with four entrances from the cardinal directions, while illustrating the sandhara plan found in Sanskrit texts on architecture. It originally had a Chaturmukha (four-faced) Linga in the center of the temple and many more mandapas (halls), but the surviving structure is much smaller

The outer walls include the architectural and decorative details in major Hindu temples, but to accommodate the four entrances, the temple integrates ardha-mandapas that function as antaralas. The original temple had mukhamandapas on the north and south side for the pilgrims to gather, but that is now lost and only mutilated and damaged sections of these sections can now be traced. The details in and above the mancabandha adhistana are elegant, with a band of flowers, then alternating horse-elephant rajasena, above which is the vedikas with miniature but beautiful musicians, then gandharas framed between aedicules, topped with wood/jewel-like detail kaksasana carvings.^[1]
                                                                            

It originally had a Chaturmukha (four-faced) Linga in the center of the temple and many more mandapas (halls), but the surviving structure is much smaller. The temple preserves an early example of a relatively uncommon Hindu architecture. The temple is also notable for how it integrates the artwork of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Vedic deities together.^[1]

The temple is a remarkable building that illustrates the sandhara plan, with a square garbhagriha that can accessed from four cardinal directions.^[1] This open from all sides plan comes with four molded walls each with decorated doors. The doorjambs are decorated with pancha shakhas (five concentric band of fine carvings), but the artisans made each door unique. The eastern door is particularly excellent, one of the best from the 11th-century.^[1] Each door has a pair of dwarapalas. The temple includes a pradakshina patha for circumambulation.^[1][2] It also has an antarala and a sarvatobhadra-style mukhamandapa.^[2]