Lakshminarayana Temple was built by King Vira Someshwara of the Hoysala Empire in 1250 CE. One of the finest specimens of Hoysala sculpture is the Lakshminarayana Temple in. 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. However there is very little sculpture on these lateral temples. The central temple is decorated with sculptures. The sculpture of Lakshminarayana Temple belongs to the later period of the Hoysalas. 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. The pillars have been decorated with impressive foliage sculptures and carved figurines.

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