Vignasanthe is a sleepy small village just over 3 km from Nonavinakere which is less than 20 km from Thruvikere. Best way to reach is from Bangalore (Karnataka, India) – Nelamangala, Yediyur – Thuruvikere, Nonavinakere, and Vignasanthe.
Do not forget to take the priest with you as he stays at Nonavinakere.
This is a 13th century temple built by a Hoysala King. The typical Hoysala architecture is unmistakable. It is a small but extremely beautiful thrikootachala temple. As you enter you can see the Chennakeshava in the garbhagrha. On the right side is Lord Lakshminarasimha with Goddess Lakshmi on His lap. Her leg rests on a lotus flower and because of her weight L the lotus is bent a bit and an elephant is holding the lotus us – what an imagination. The prabha has dashavathara sculpted (as with Chennakeshava). On the opposite side is Lord Venugopala with intricate carvings with Krishna’s epic stories in sculpture. At the entrance of Chennakeshava, we can find Ganesha on the left hand side and Chamundeshwari (extremely delicate and intricate carving to the last possible detail) can be found. Chamundeshwari is not worshipped as her arm is broken.
The main mahamantapa has magnificent carvings on the roof depicting the plantain flower motif. In addition, just below are eight wonderful carvings of the different devas.
The entire temple below the lintel level outside have very few carvings but the sculptures above are just so detailed that it would take days to see them all.
The typical star shape is followed here too.
However not enough care is taken to keep them in good condition – what has stood for over 700 years has to stand for posterity to enjoy the marvels of the bygone era.
There are no hotels nearby so plan well.
