Dance Floor in the Kappe Chennigaraya Temple
Dance Floor
Located in the sabhamantapa of the navaranga in the Kappe Chennigaraya Temple, the dance floor shown in the image was likely used by Shantala Devi, an accomplished dancer and the pattada rani (principal queen consort) of King Vishnuvardana, the builder of the main Chennakeshava Temple.
Commissioned by Shantala Devi, the construction of the Kappe Chennigaraya Temple began at the same time as the main temple, i.e., in 1117 CE. She took great interest in this temple and even oversaw its construction. As you can see from the image, the dance floor, which is a perfectly round stone platform, still maintains its original polish even after thousand years and is a testament to the ingenuity and superior craftsmanship of the Hoysala artisans.
Kappe Chennigaraya is a smaller temple situated in the south side of the Belur Chennakeshava Temple complex in Karnataka, India. It has two garbhagrihas (inner sanctums), one in the south and the other in the west.
In front of the grabharihas is the navaranga, which is a mantapa (covered hall) that covers the front portion of the temple. Navaranga, which means nine sectors in Kannada, is an essential architectural element of the Hoysala temple architecture. In the navaranga design, the rectangular area is a grid of nine sections created by placing the pillars at the corners of the central section. A stone roof above these pillars covers the entire space.
The dance floor shown in the image is in the sabhamantapa. As you can see, there are four pillars at the corners of the dance floor.
Kappe Chennigaraya Images
– East Facade
– North Facade
– Navaranga Pillars
– Venugopala Standing in the South Garbhagriha
– Ugra Narasimha Carved on the Lintel of the South Garbhagriha Door
– Lakshminarayana Carved on the Ceiling
– Outer Wall around the West Garbhagriha
Related Pages
– Belur Chennakeshava Temple – Bracket Figures
– Belur Chennakeshava Temple – Navaranga
– Belur Chennakeshava Temple – Garbhagriha Outer Wall
– Somanathapura Keshava Temple – A Masterpiece of Hoysala Temple Art
Copyright © 2020 by Lawrence Rodrigues. All rights reserved.