Intricately carved walls

More sculpturally and artistically sophisticated than any other Hoysala temple, the Hoysaleshwara temple is notable for its sculptures, intricate reliefs, detailed friezes, iconography, and inscriptions in North Indian and South Indian scripts.

The Hoysala temples are stellate or star-shaped structures. The numerous projection points of the star on the wall provide ample surface area for the display of large-sized sculptural panels. A close-up view of the central projection on the eastern wall, showing the details of the large-sized reliefs above, with the horizontal bands below. This projection is accessible only from the inside passageway. Recesses extending behind the central projection accommodate further display area and thus contain more relief panels.

The carved banded plinths, a distinguishing characteristic of all Hoysala temples, comprise a series of horizontal courses that run as rectangular strips all around the temple with narrow recesses between them.

Perforated screens later covered the once open halls of the temple along the eastern side. The lathe-turned columns can be seen embedded in the screens. Hence, large reliefs exist only on the central projection. However, the bands running along the bottom continue along the entire temple complex walls.

The eastern temple wall has perforated screens on top and horizontal bands below. The eight friezes of equal width were used for the first time in this temple and depict an “inexhaustible amount of figure sculpture, notably the third frieze from above, which contains scenes from the two epics….But all the other friezes are also amazing, both for the quality and quantity of their sculpture” – in the words of famous art historian Gerard Foekema.

The lowest layers of bands have friezes that have the carvings of elephants, lions, nature and dancers, horses, decorative scrolls, scenes from Hindu texts, mythical animal makara and swans.

The uppermost frieze is conveniently tilted forwarded to allow a clear view from jagati, the raised platform. This row of sculptures depicts people's daily lives, such as musicians playing their instruments, women dressing up, soldiers in battle armour, and snake charmers.