 Architecture of Chennakesava temple has been elaborate. The entrance of the temple is through a porch that has been designed with lathe turned pillars. As per chronology this temple was built by the architect and sculptor, Ruvari Malithamma.
The temple building stands on a high plinth with vimanas and their superstructures. The Chennakesava Temple is considered triple shrined. The vimanas have entrances that connect them to the main rectangular hall. These entrances have their own towers which are known as sukanasi. However, due to their short heights they appear almost as low extensions of the primary superstructure on the shrine. The main temple rests on a platform. This shrine has three vimanas that are connected by a closed mandapa. Flights of stairs connect the wide platform and the mandapa. The vimana is the place where the main deity resides and it is the jagati where the devotees offer their prayers. The parikrama is done here before entering the temple hall. The hall has 16 bays. As far as the shape of the vimana is concerned it is star shaped and hence the three shrines have 16 pointed stellate. The towers also have the same pattern. Perforated windows and relief friezes have been widely used to decorate the exterior of the temple. The sculptures are detailed and intricately carved out of the hard stone. This temple has two eaves that run around it. The upper eave appears where the tower meets the shrine wall and the lower eave is to be found about one metre below the upper one. The gap between the two eaves has been filled with the help of the decorative miniature towers. It is the lathe turned pillar, which support the ceiling of the temple. The ceiling here is dome shaped and is decorated with intricate designs. Multi-petalled lotuses, banana bud motifs, stepped ponds and ananta knots are part of these designs. There are three shrines at the Chennakesava Temple and they are dedicated to Keshava, Janardhana and Venugopala. Therefore the whole temple looks like a rhythmic progression of well decorated projections and recesses. The basic layout of the temple is symmetrical. |
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