Sculptural reliefs on the south-side wall around the sanctum
Unlike the wall surrounding the Navaranga, which has a step-like outline, the outline of the wall around garbhagriha (inner sanctum) is jagged with a random pattern. The shape of this outline is symmetrical about the east-west axis, i.e., the south side outline is a mirror image of the north side, and vice-versa. The wall structure is also symmetrical about the east-west axis. However, no carvings on the north and south side are alike. The outline of the roof also has the same shape and is symmetrical about the east-west axis.
Attached to the outer wall are the massive pillars carved with sculptural reliefs of gods and goddesses and other deities. The carvings do not appear to be in any particular order or following any story-line.
The trinity - Trimurthis
Because the temple is dedicated to Vishnu, the majority of the reliefs are related to Vishnu and his avatars. Shiva and his consort Durga appear in many reliefs, most of which depict the story of their incarnations. Brahma, on the other hand, appears only in one pillar.
The South side wall around the sanctum
The section of the wall around the garbhagriha that is connected to the wall of the Navaranga has six beautifully carved sculptural reliefs with Vishnu as the theme. All the reliefs have the standard iconography of Vishnu holding the items Shankha (the conch shell), Chakra (discus), Gada (mace), Padma (lotus). The hands holding these items vary in each sculpture which is depicted in the chart below. Another standard iconographic feature in an idol of Vishnu is his mount Garuda (the mythical half-bird-half-human) at his feet.
The relief on the rightmost pillar of this wall depicts Lakshmi Narayana, i.e., Lord Vishnu sitting with his consort Goddess Lakshmi on his lap. Below them is his vehicle Garuda kneeling with folded hands.
The relief to the right of Lakshmi Narayana is Vishnu portrayed with four hands carrying his signature objects, Shanka (conch), Chakra (discus), Gada (mace), and Padma (lotus).
The relief on the pillar next to it depicts Harihara, i.e., Vishnu and Shiva fused into a single entity with Vishnu’s features on his right side and Shiva’s on the left. Carved on the Vishnu’s side is his vehicle Garuda, and on the Shiva’s side is his vehicle Nandi the bull.
Next to that are many forms of Vishnu. Based on the hands holding Vishnu's signature items, we can deduce the following.
Left most: Keshava - Shankha - conch (Hand: Back right), Chakra - discus (Hand - back left), Gada - mace (Hand - front left), Padma (lotus) (Hand - front right)
Second from left: Vasudeva - Shankha (back right) , Chakra (back left), Padma( broken front left), Gada (front right)
Third from left: Madhava - Chakra (back right), Shankha (back left), Padma ( broken front left), Gada (front right)
Please refer to the thesis work Iconography of Hoysala period temples for more details.
This next section of the wall is oriented along the east-west direction. The relief on the right side of the round pillar depicts Shiva slaying the demon Andhakasura and the relief on the left side depicts Kali, an incarnation of Shiva’s consort Parvati.The middle pillars have carvings of Vishnu with four hands, each carrying his signature objects. The next square pillar has two sides, each of which has reliefs of some deities - the one with an umbrella can be recognised as the Vamana avatara of Vishnu.
The relief on the next pillar depicts Ravana shaking Mount Kailash, where Shiva is resting with his consort Parvati.
South-western wall
This is the section of the wall around the inner sanctum is the most interesting one from the sculptural reliefs point of view. You can see here three deities, Brahma, and Lord Vishnu in the avataras of Narasimha and Varaha.
In the Hindu mythology, Brahma, the God responsible for the creation of the universe, is one of the Trimurti (Hindu Trinity). The depictions of Brahma with standard iconography show him with four heads, each facing a cardinal direction and four arms.
Brahma has three heads (the assumption is that the fourth head [facing east] is not visible) and four arms, two on each side. Brahma, with his two right hands, is holding a spoon (used for pouring ghee into the yagna pyre) and japamāla (prayer beads), and with his two left hands, a kamandala (water jug) and a book (Vedas). Carved on the bottom right is Brahma’s vāhana (vehicle), the Hamsa (Swan).
Although Brahma is the creator in Hindu mythology, he is not worshiped as widely as Vishnu or Shiva. There are very few temples dedicated to Brahma in the world. The Brahma Temple in Prambanan (in Yogyakarta, Indonesia) is one of the few temples dedicated to Brahma. The other well-known Brahma Temple is in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.
There are several legends why Brahma is not worshiped. According to one legend, his consort Savitri, who was angered by Brahma’s extreme lust, cursed him not to be worshiped anywhere in the world except in Pushkar. In another legend, Shiva cursed Brahma because he lied to him and Vishnu.
The Narasimhavatara relief is carved on a pillar attached to the exterior wall surrounding the garbhagriha. This pillar is on the south west side of the temple. In this avatara, Lord Vishnu has the torso of a man and the face and claws of a lion. He adopted this body to kill a demon named Hiranyakashipu.
Story of Narasimha from the Puranic scriptures: Hiranyakashipu, a demon, performs intense austerities to please Lord Brahma. Pleased with Hiranyakashipu, Brahma asks him what boon he seeks. When Brahma realizes that Hiranyakashipu is seeking to be immortal, Brahma refuses the request but suggests that he can ask for any other boon. Hiranyakashipu then cleverly asks Brahma that he must not be killed by a man or animal, by any weapon, at dawn or dusk, and neither inside nor outside the house. Brahma accedes to this request. With the superpowers he gained from the boon, Hiranyakashipu starts tormenting Vishnu’s devotees, including his own son Prahlada. To solve this problem, Vishnu cleverly transforms himself as Narasimha (half lion - half man) and kills Hiranyakashipu at dusk sitting in the doorway of the demon's assembly hall . Vishnu kills the demon without any weapong by ripping off his entrails with his bare claws.
Slaying of the demon Gajasura
The relief shown in the image depicts Gajasurasamhara, which means the slaying of a demon named Gajasura. In Sanskrit, gaja means elephant, asura means demon, and samhara means slaying.The Gajasura story is described in two ancient Indian texts, Kurma Purana and Varaha Purana. Here is the story in brief:
The demon Gajasura seeks revenge for the slaying of his father Mahishausura by Shiva’s consort Durga. To fulfill his wish, he goes the Himalayas and performs an arduous penance dedicated to Lord Brahma. Pleased with the demon's penance, Lord Brahma grants him a boon which makes him very powerful. With this boon, the demon starts tormenting the devotees of Lord Shiva in Kashi, the present-day Varanasi, in India. When the devotees to plead with Lord Shiva for help, he confronts Gajasura, and after a prolonged fight, he kills Gajasura with his trident.
As can be seen from the image, Lord Shiva in a dancing stance is standing atop an elephant head and with his numerous hands carrying varied objects such as the trishula (trident), shula (sharp knife), kapala danda (staff with a skull-cup), ghanta (bell), and damaru (drum-like musical instrument). Shiva's attendants, called the Ganas, are carved on the bottom left of the sculpture. Several musicians are playing a dolu (drum) near the head of the elephant.
According to the Puranic scriptures, Bhairava is a fierce form of Shiva created by himself to destroy both the internal and external enemies. His sculptural depictions indicate the fierceness of his physical presence.
As can be seen from the image, Bhairava has assumed a fearsome stance. Although he is devoid of clothes, Bhaivara is shown to be wearing a variety of jewelry such as necklaces, anklets, armbands and a waistband. He is also wearing the yajnopavita, a looped sacred thread worn across the chest from the left shoulder to the waist.
The image shows the backside (the west) of the temple surrounding the inner sanctum, the garbhagriha. This side houses a two-storied mini-shrine at the center. The star-shaped roof of the mini-shrine is supported by pillars on the right and left with sculptural reliefs. There is a small shrine built on the floor, below the, Jagati, the raised star-shaped platform.
Continue: The north-side wall around the sanctum