Hoysala Bequest to Indian Art,BY B. SUBRAHMANYAM

Hoysala Bequest to Indian Art

BY B. SUBRAHMANYAM

"An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink."-KEATS.

Hoysala Crest

"Thoroughly perfect art is that which proceeds from the heart, which involves all the emotions; associates with these the head, yet as inferior to heart; and the hand, yet as inferior to the heart and head; and thus brings out the whole man." According to this ideal of John Ruskin, a perfect piece of art should draw out the tenderest and most delicate cords of human emotions, while being capable of showing a harmonious blending of subdued imagination and skill.

Judged by this standard, it looks as if Indian art is but a remote approximation to this ideal and falls a little wide of the mark, not on account of any deficiency but due to a profound exuberance of both imagination and skill.

But then, in the West, art is the expression of the ‘whole man’; whereas in India, it is the expression of the life of a ‘whole people’. While one represents and is moulded by the genius of an individual, the other represents and is shaped by the genius of a whole community amidst whom it exists. There is, thus, a fundamental difference between these two conceptions of art.

Indian art, especially as represented in its architecture and sculpture, satisfies almost to a perfection the most meticulous requirements of this latter and perhaps the more rational ideal of art. By far the most exquisite example of the perfection of Indian art in this branch has been vouchsafed to us in the many relics of temple architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries that are to be found in the Mysore State and the adjoining districts of Western India comprising the Karnataka country. These have an individuality of their own and are the result of a happy fusion of the Northern and the Dravidian schools of architecture. Distinct marks of this new departure are seen earlier in the structures built by the later Chalukyan Kings; but it was only during the ascendency and within the dominion of the Hoysala Kings that this school developed unmistakable and finished features of its own and brought into being these "loveliest shapes carved in stone." Besides, the largest number of structures of this school of architecture have been constructed during the time of the Hoysalas. It has, therefore, been considered more appropriate to name this style after the Hoysalas,  than the Chalukyas after whom Fergusson has called this style.

If one could be permitted to give this a linguistic nomenclature, it is perhaps not less correct to say that this is the Karnataka style, as this school of architecture had been fostered, developed by, and had its being amidst the Kannada-speaking people, whose very life, traditions and culture had not a little share in the final shaping of these marvelous treasures of medieval architecture.

Hoysala Vishnuvardhana

Front wall of Chennakesava Temple at Belur (On the right of the picture is carved the Darbar scene at Vishnuvardhana, and on the left that of Narasimha I.)

II

The ancestors of the patrons of this school of architecture which attained such magnificent stature under their fostering care, were small chiefs dominating the west of the Mysore State and claiming to have descended from Yaduraya of the Lunar dynasty. They were natives of Sosevur or Sasakapura which has been identified by Mr. Lewis Rice as Angadi ² in the Western Ghats. An incident associated with one of their line, Sala, (A.D. 1007), ³ is responsible for the dynastic name of Hoysala, by which all his descendants are known.

This incident, which is described in one of the inscriptions of Hoysala Ballala II found in the Trikuteswara temple at Gadag, is of interest. It says:  "In course of time, there was born in that race a certain king named Sala, who, having gained title for his family, caused even Yadu, the first of it, to be forgotten. For when in the City of Sasakapura, with the words ‘Slay, O Sala,’  he was commanded by a certain ascetic to destroy a tiger that had come to devour him in the performance of his religious rites, he slew it and acquired the name ‘Hoysala’. From that time forth, the name of ‘Hoysala’ was attached to his race and the emblem on its banner, causing fear to its foes, was a tiger."

The story has been recounted in many of the Hoyasala inscriptions, with perhaps certain verbal and other minor differences here and there. And the figure of Sala fighting the tiger is to be found in many of the ornate structures built by the Hoysala Kings all over their Kingdom. Sala seems to have built his new capital Dwarasamudra (present Halebid) from where ruled his descendants for over three hundred years until swept away by the Mohammedans.

The next Hoysala King Vinayaditya (A.D. 1047-1100) is better known to history and was a feudatory chief (Maha-mandaleswara) subordinate to the Western Chalukyas. Six temples of his time have been found and one of them happens to be in Angadi. Nothing is so far known about the architectural activities of his grandson Ballala I (A.D. 1101-1104) who succeeded him, Vinayaditya's son Ereyanga having died during his own life-time.

But the ascendancy of the Hoysalas began with the coming into power of Vishnuvardhana (A.D. 1104 -1141) brother of Ballala I and second son of Ereyanga, during whose rule the Hoysala Kingdom was considerably extended. He had become so powerful that he attempted an invasion of the territories of his overlords, the Chalukyas, but was badly repulsed. Vishnuvardhana, who was a Jain, was converted by Sri Ramanuja into the Vaishnavite faith in A.D. 1117 and in commemoration of this event, he built the Chennakesava temple at Belur  which was his capital at the time. Besides this, ten more temples of this school were built during his rule; the earliest being the Lakshmidevi temple at Doddagaddavalli  in A.D. 1113.

His son, Vijayanarasimha or Narasimha I (A.D. 1136-71) made yet another attempt to shake off the Chalukyan yoke during the time of the Chalukyan King, Jagadekamalla II (A.D. 1138-49); but without success. It was during this King's rule that the famous Hoysaleswara temple at Halebid was constructed in (A.D. 1141)  There are also thirteen other temples of this period.

By far the most powerful of the Hoysalas was Ballala II, also known as Viraballala who succeeded his father in AD. 1172. He was a very powerful ruler like his grandfather Vishnuvardhana, but his fame far surpassed that of the latter. He threw off the Chalukyan yoke and successfully repulsed the Yadavas of Devagiri and established his northern capital at Lakkigundi, the modern Lakkundi. ¹⁰ This period was practically the zenith of the Hoysala ascendency. There are about twenty-two temples of this period in Mysore State alone, and so far as is known this seems to be the largest number built by any one of the Hoysala Kings. Of these, the Amruteswara temple (A.D. 1196) at Amrutapura  and the Kedareswara temple (A.D. 1219) at Halebid, are of special interest.

One of the Bracket figures in the Chennakesava Temple at Belur

Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebid

(Observe the perforated screens which effectively ventilate and light the Interior.)

But there are evidences to show that large number of temples were built by this illustrious ruler outside Mysore in the country conquered and occupied b him. The temple of Kadambeswara at Rattehalli in Kod Taluk of Dharwar District was built during his reign about the year A.D. 1174. Then, after repulsing the Yadavas and as soon as he established himself in his new capital, Lakkundi, Viraballala practically reconstructed or renovated the ancient temple of Kasivisveswara of that place and perhaps effected considerable improvements in the Trikuteswara temple at Gadag. Besides these, it would be difficult to say, at this stage, how many of the numerous temples that have fallen into a scrap-heap of ruins in Lakkundi, Gadag, Dambal, Arasibidi  and in many other places, were not built by him.

The Harishareswara temple at Harihar  was built by his son Narasimha II (A.D. 1220-1235)  in A.D. 1224. This King who was in alliance with the Cholas, seems to have actually occupied Trichinopoly in A.D. 1223. Besides the Harishareswara temple there are six temples of his time.

During the reign of his son, Someswara, (A.D. 1233-1254)  the Hoysalas were pressed back to the south by the Yadavas of Devagiri. The beautiful temple of Lakshminarasimha and Sadasiva at Nuggihalli ¹⁸ were now built in A.D. 1249. Twelve temples of this period have to come to light.

There are seven temples constructed during the rule of his successor Narasimha III (A.D. 1254-1291) of which the ornate temple of kesava at Somanathpur  built by one of his officers, Somanatha, in A.D. 1268, is perhaps the best.

The last of the Hoysala Kings, the temples of whose period have yet been found, is Hoysala Ballala III (A.D. 1291- 1342). There are two structures of this period. It was during the rule of this King that Mallik Kafur in A.D. 1310 raided and laid waste the Hoysala Kingdom, destroyed the capital, imprisoned the King and thus abruptly brought about the extinction of this noble line of Kings and the art that they so fondly reared. Another army of Mohammedans marched over this territory in A.D. 1327 and completed the process of destruction.

With his son Ballala IV (A.D. 1343- ) the last traces of the Hoysala dynasty are lost.

III

The Hoysala School is unique in all Indian architecture and sculpture in that its artists, unlike their brethren in any other part of India, were in the habit of inscribing their names below the sculptures wrought by them. It would perhaps be more correct to say that this feature is a speciality of the Mysore architects and sculptors, from among whom evidently came the moulders of the Hoysala style. For, a few of such signed sculptures have been found even in some of the earlier sculptures built in Mysore. No information of any value except the mere mention of the name of the artist is, however, available in most of the cases, though here and there one comes across certain very interesting yet, perhaps, meagre details about some of them.

In the Hoysaleswara temple at Halebid, the names of Devoja, Kasimoja's son Masana, Mayana and Tanagundur Harisha, appear on some of the sculptures wrought by them. The Kedareswara temple of the same place is said to have been built by the artist Devoja. The architects who helped in the construction of the Chennakesava temple at Belur seem to be Dasoja, his son Chavana, Chikka Hampa, Malliyana, Padari Malloja, Kencha Malliyana, Masada and Nagoja. The names of four other artists, perhaps of a later period, are also found in some of the buildings outside the Chennakesava temple here. They are: Bhandari Madhuvanna, Madhuvanna, Bechma and Gumma Birana. Among the sculptors that were responsible for the building of the Kesava temple at Somanathpur, were Mallitamma, Baleya, Chandeya, Bamaya, Masanitamma, Bharmaya, Nanjaya and Yalamsaya. The name of Mallitamma, who appears to have been the principal architect of this temple, is found on many sculptures in the Lakshminarasimha temple at Nuggihalli. This Mallitamma together with, Baichoji of Nandi, it is recorded, built the temple mentioned above in the latter place. Malloja Maniyoja was, perhaps, responsible for the temple of Lakshmidevi at Doddagaddavalli.

Tradition has it that all the Hoysala structures were built by an architect named Jakanachari and his son Donkanachari, natives of Kaidala  in Mysore. But credence is not given to the existence of these ‘half-mythical’ architects and sculptors, as no mention has been made of these persons while the names of so many other artists find mention.

Front of the Kesava temple at Somanathpur

Exquisite Carvings on the outer walls of the

Kesava Temple, Somanathpur

IV

"There are many buildings in India which are unsurpassed in delicacy of detail by any in the world, but the temples at Belur and Halebid surpass even these for freedom of handling and richness of fancy," says Fergusson speaking about the most ornate of the Hoysala structures. The temples of this style are especially noted for their artistic design and sculpture and for an exuberance of detail. The figures, the floral and other decorations that have been so freely lavished on all and every side of the temples, are among the most lovely that the skillful hand of man could produce even in the most pliable of materials.

The temples are generally star-shaped structures, built on a raised terrace which follows the contour of the former. The temple itself consists of one, two, three or four cells as the case may be, each cell consisting of an adytum and a vestibule –and often a central hall called Navaranga is also added. And it is surmounted by as many elegant towers as there are cells. Usually these sanctuaries are enclosed in a courtyard. Hoysala towers are a speciality of the school.

The Chennakesava temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara temple Halebid, the Kesava temple at Somanathpur and the Lakshmidevi temple at Doddagaddavalli, could well be considered as the best examples of the single, double, triple or quadruple-celled structures of the Hoysala School respectively.

All the temples of this style are built of pot stone  or soap stone, varying in colour from greenish gray to bluish gray. The stone is soft when quarried and quickly gets hardened on exposure to weather. It takes polish to a very high degree like marble and is, perhaps, the best material fitted for the ornate constructions of the Hoysala artists.

The outer walls of the structures, their doorways, ceilings and pillars, are the favoured parts that have received the special attention of the imaginative skill of the artists of this great school.

The lintels and jambs of the doorways are generally crowded with carvings of the images of Gods and floral decorations, sometimes almost of a fantastic delicacy. The ceilings in these temples are small cupolas depending from the roof and have been shaped into various geometrical and other artistic forms with a luxurious display of carvings. The largest number of Hoysala pillars are ‘turned’ pillars which are all highly polished; though examples are not wanting of those loaded with a superabundance of carvings. On a little sprinkling of water on their polished surface, some of these turned pillars  produce such interesting and amusing optical effects that they strike one as the most extraordinary feat of skillfulness of the not-much-lettered artists who wrought them with the crude materials of those bygone days.

Referring to the work of the Hoysala artists on the walls of the Belur and Halebid temples, Fergusson writes: "The amount of labour which each facet of this porch displays is such as I believe was never bestowed on any surface of equal extent in any building in the world. It may probably be considered as one of the most marvelous exhibitions of human labour to be found even in the patient East." These remarks are true of most of the ornate structures of this ancient style of architecture.

Except in certain Jain temples, the artist's capacity in very intricate and most delicate handling and for minute elaboration of detail, has nowhere been so well exhibited as on the outer walls of these immortal shrines. Frieze upon frieze of lovely bas-relief, interspersed with beautiful bands of scroll work surmounted by handsome figures of Gods of the Hindu mythology, or pierced screens of various attractive shapes and kinds, with numerous other exquisite subordinate carvings, all differing one from the other and shut in by nice deep cornices form a magnificent whole displaying such harmony and rhythm as to draw out the most delicate cords of human emotions.

It might, perhaps, be well to mention here, that the cruel hand of time has not been laid on these lovely group of structures without leaving its deep marks. The depredations of both man and the elements have left but a few of the innumerable temples of this style in any state of good repair, if only to serve, as it were, as specimens of the architectural attainments of this great school. But most of them are in complete ruins or in very dilapidated and neglected condition. Thanks to the present Administration in Mysore, efforts are being made to preserve in good condition some of the most charming and perfect ornate structures of the Hoysala architecture at Belur, Halebid, Somanathpur and a few other places, and it is but in the fitness of things to: express a hope that the same amount of attention might be extended towards other beautiful buildings of this and other schools of art that lie within the State, panting for such relief.

Patterns of Hoysala perforated screens