Lakshmidevi Temple at Doddagadduvalli

Soumyaroop Mukherjee

Lakshmidevi Temple at Doddagadduvalli

Situated in Doddagaddavalli hamlet in Hassan District, Karnataka, India, the Lakshmi Devi temple dates back to the early 12th century. Each shrine in the main temple is a square with a sanctum oriented towards the cardinal direction. These four shrines share a common mandapa (hall). Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in the eastern shrine, while Kali-Durga, Shiva, and Vishnu are presumably worshipped in the northern, northernmost, and southern shrines, respectively.

The complex of Lakshmi Devi temple; Source: Creative Commons License

Lakshmi Devi temple of Doddagaddavalli which is located in the Hassan district of Karnataka in the southern part of India and is a feast for the eyes. The Telegu inscriptions describe Doddagadda Valli as Gadumballi and it is historically important. An interesting feature of this temple is that the central temple consists of four shrines that share a common mandapa (hall). The structure of each sanctum is a square and is placed evenly in a cardinal direction. It is possible that the original town was situated beside a man-made reservoir, so it might have been a naturally beautiful location. This temple complex is locally called ‘Kalamata Devasthana’ in Telegu.This temple enshrines many gods and goddesses. In the eastern shrine, the main goddess is Lakshmi, the northern shrine enshrines Kali and Durga the two forms of maha Shakti, and the western shrine enshrines Shiva. The southern shrine is empty due to the ravages of time but possibly it enshrined Vishnu.

Another interesting feature is that the Shakti pithas enshrine Bhairava (the protector of Shakti) in a separate shrine, to the northeast of the main temple. According to Shiva mythology, the northeast is the side of Bhairav who is considered to be the semi angry version of Shiva who is also a protector of Shakti. Along with this shrine at the corners, one can see four small shrines inside a compound/prakara which is square in plan. There is a total of nine temples if we roam around the site. If looked at carefully, it can be observed that the temple is built in the north Indian style of Nagara Sikhara.

This temple was built in the year 1113 CE. The donation was done to the temple by a wealthy merchant Kullahana Rahuta and his wife Sahaj Devi during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana. It also stands as an indication of the fact that rich people donated temples in southern parts of India.

The temple complex is situated within a compound which is 7 feet tall and 115 sq. feet wide. The temple has a dvara-mandapa to its west and dvarasobha to its east which is prominently visible upon entering the temple. But unfortunately, the architecture today is missing everything except door frames and the mandapa-like structure.

So the next time you want to see an unusual and unique temple architecture, do drop in to see this Hoysala marvel at Doddagaddavalli.

The fourth tower is intricately decorated. The main shrine or the garbhagriha has a standing Lakshmi which is quite contrary to the popular tradition where the goddess Lakshmi is always believed to be seated on the lotus.

This iconography of Lakshmi is called Gaja Lakshmi, as it is flanked by two white elephants. She has four hands and holds four things- sankha (conch) in her upper right hand, a chakra in her upper left hand, a mala (rosary) in her lower right hand and a mace in her lower left hand.

The puja of Gaja Lakshmi is quite common in north Indian households and we worship her on Diwali. But in southern India, it's a rare tradition and the worshipping of Lakshmi is quite uncommon. Historians and anthropologists think that this may be due to the influence of north Indian culture which has percolated the precincts of South India.

The most interesting feature of this temple is that one can find Shaiva and Vaishnava deities together, which is uncommon in other Hoysala temples. A temple of Hoysalas enshrines one single deity, either Shiva or Vishnu. The torana which is outside the garbhagriha of the four shrines of the temple displays the iconographies of betalas (ghostly beings) along with nagakanya and vishakanya - the unearthly women of mythology. They are snake women and women with poison who were deadly as well as beautiful and often these vishkanyas were issued as spies by kings. The iconographies of these mystic mythical beings are usually uncommon in Hoysala temples.

The four small shrines at each corner are a mark of a true design called parivaralayas which has references in the Sanskrit text Shilpa Sastra. Another temple, which is the fifth shrine, is devoted to Bhairava and is located in addition to the northeast of the main temple. Bhairava is another form of Shiva Mahadeva, the form of rage, and is the focus of this additional temple. People might wonder that the shared mandapa was a sign that there were dancing performances and singing concerts in the temple complex as the main temple had a shared mandapa and the chatushukta, or four shrines, at its core. In terms of the history of temples, the temple complex which adds up to a total number of nine temples is a rather rare feat in the art of temple making.

This temple is known as the earliest known Hoysala temple in the Hassan district of Karnataka. The building material of the temple is soapstone, which was common for Hoysala temples. This temple shows Kadamba Nagara architecture. The most prominent feature of this style of architecture is that the temples do not stand on a jagati (platform), which is unusual for a temple in southern India. There is a square mandapa or hall at three of the shrines. The vimanas' original shikhara, or superstructure, is in the phamsana style.