One of the finest specimens of Hoysala architecture is the Lakshminarayana Temple in Hosaholalu (Karnataka). The sculpture of Lakshminarayana Temple is worth exploring with its intricate designs and well carved figures. This particular dates back to the 13th century and was built by King Vira Someshwara of the Hoysala Empire. Almost all the features of Hoysala sculptures are to be found here.

The Lakshminarayana Temple is a trikuta or three shrined. An important feature here is that only the central shrine has a superstructure or tower on the top. The other shrines lying at the side of the main shrine are square shaped with five projections. But there is very little sculpture on these lateral temples. The central temple, however, is well decorated with sculptures. The tower of the vestibule or the Sukanasi connects the main shrine and the mandapa. The entire temple stands on a raised platform or jaagti.

Built out of soapstone the architecture and sculpture of Lakshminarayana Temple belongs to the later period of the Hoysala architecture. This is evident from the two eaves that run around the temple. The first eave is appears at a position where the superstructure meets the outer wall. The lower eave appears at a distance of one meter from the upper one. The gap between the two eaves has been designed with the decorative miniature motifs. Since this is a Vaishanava temple most of the reliefs used here are drawn from the Vaishanava sect. Hence carvings of Lord Vishnu are easily found on the walls of the Lakshminarayana Temple. There are around 120 images of Vishnu, his consort and his attendants here. Hindu deities with their attendants are a common scene on the lower eaves of the Hoysala temples. The sculptures of these deities are detailed. At the base of the wall six friezes have been carved. These mouldings are of equal width and these run all around the temple.

Intricate sculptures of swans, elephants, processions, horses and others have been used to decorate these friezes. One of the main features of Hoysala sculpture is the recurring images from Hindu epics. The sculpture of Lakshminarayana Temple is no exception. There are episodes from Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas engraved on the walls of the temple.

The inner chamber of the Lakshminarayana Temple consists of three shrines: Venugopala, Narayana and Lakshminarasimha. Its mandapa is a closed that has been built with the help of elegant lathe turned pillars. These pillars, in turn, have been decorated with impressive foliage sculptures and carved figurines. The four central pillars divide the mandapa into bays and nine decorative ceilings. The entire ceiling is supported by the pillars. In fact all the elements of the architecture and sculpture of Lakshminarayana Temple reflect the excellence of Hoysala art.