Ranganayaki Shrine – Rear Facade
Ranganayaki Shrine – Rear Facade
The image shows the rear facade of the Ranganayaki Shrine (also known as the Andal) situated northwest of the Belur Chennakeshava Temple complex in Karnataka, India. It is an east-facing shrine, so the facade in the image faces west. You can see part of the main temple on the right and Salu Mantapa on the left.
The Ranganayaki Shrine is a small but an ornate building located northwest of the main Chennakeshava Temple, Karnataka, India. As the name suggests, it is a shrine dedicated to Goddess Ranganayaki, a consort of Ranganatha.
Ranganayaki and Ranganatha are local names for Lakshmi and Vishnu, respectively. Ranganatha is a form of Maha Vishnu portrayed as reclining on Adishesha floating on the cosmic ocean.
As you can see, the carving style and decoration of the Ranganayaki Shrine appear different from the main temple because it was built much later during the Vijayanagara period. The Vijayanagara builders reused a lot of stone materials from the existing Hoysala temples, including some Jain temples.
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.