Belur, Karnataka

Belur is a town and taluk in Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. The town is renowned for its Chennakeshava Temple dedicated to Vishnu, one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture and the largest Hindu temple complex that has survived from pre-14th-century Karnata-Dravida tradition. A historic site inspired by the teachings of Ramanujacharya, it has been a Vaishnava Hindu pilgrimage center since at least the 12th century. It was also the first capital of the Hoysala dynasty, before they built Dwarasamudra (modern Halebid).

Belur is also Town Municipal Council and taluka. The Hoysala monuments at Belur and Halebidu have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2023.

Geography
Belur is situated on the banks of Yagachi River in the Hassan district of south Karnataka. It is about 40 km northwest of Hassan and about 16 km west from the famous Hindu and Jain temples' town of Halebeedu. The town is about 217 km west of Bengaluru (IATA Code: BLR), about a 3.5 hours drive accessible with a four lane NH75 highway through Hassan. Nearest railway stations to Belur are Hassan Junction and Chikkamagaluru Railway Station. The nearest airport to Belur is Mangalore International Airport at 160 km.

Belur has an elevation of 979 m above mean sea level, making it the highest town in Hassan district. The National Highway 73 (India), its subsidiary, NH-373, State Highway 57 (Karnataka), SH-110 & SH-112 passes through the town of Belur.

There are regular buses to Belur from Bengaluru(222 km), Chikkamagaluru (25 km), Halebeedu (16 km), Hassan (40 km) and Mysuru (160 km), operated by KSRTC. The KSRTC also has a bus depot in Belur under Chikkamagaluru division.

Rainfall
In the year 2022, Belur hobli received 1585 mm of annual rainfall. Meanwhile other hoblis of Belur taluk received rainfall as follows:
 * 1) Arehalli - 2290 mm
 * 2) Bikkodu - 1637 mm
 * 3) Halebeedu - 1208 mm
 * 4) Madihalli - 1185 mm

History
Belur is near the foothills east of the Western Ghats, at an altitude of 3,200 feet. It and the nearby Halebidu are well connected to northern Karnataka, western Andhra Pradesh and northern Tamil Nadu. Around this region, between the 10th and 14th century, the Hoysaḷa dynasty came to power, whose history is unclear. By their own 11th and 12th-century inscriptions, they were descendants of the Krishna-Baladeva-roots and the Yadavas of Maharashtra. They married into the Kalyana Chalukya Hindu dynasty, known for its temple and art tradition. The reliability of these inscriptions have been questioned as potential mythistory by some historians, who propose that the Hoysalas were a local Hindu family – a hill chief from the Western Ghats remembered for having killed a tiger or a lion, and they seized power and over time expanded their territory starting in the 10th century.

Belur was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 11th-century, before they built Dwarasamudra (modern Halebid). According to inscriptions discovered here, it was called Velur or Velapuri during the Hoysala era. Belur remained a laternate capital through the 14th century. The city was esteemed by the Hoysalas, and they referred to it as "earthly Vaikuntha" (Vishnu's abode) and "Dakshina Varanasi" (southern holy city of Hindus) in later inscriptions. In early 12th-century, the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana met the Hindu philosopher Ramanujacharya – famed for his ideas on Sri Vaishnavism. Belur's profile rose thereafter, becoming a Vaishnava temples and monasteries town. It has remained a Vaishnava Hindu pilgrimage center.

Monuments
Belur is home to several monuments:


 * Chennakeshava Temple, Belur – a large Vishnu-related Hoysala Hindu temples complex from the early 12th century. The main temple was originally called the Vijaya-Narayana temple built by the king, which is surrounded by many smaller temples built by a Hoysala queen, generals and merchants of Hoysalas, an attached monastery, Brahmins residences, a simple pushkarini (temple water tank), a pilgrim's choultry, kitchen and grains storage. The towering Belur gopura is visible from a distance.
 * Sankaresvara temple – the oldest temple in Belur, predates the Vishnuvardhana's Chennakeshava temples complex. Also called Shankaralingeshwara temple, dedicated to Shiva, it is about 400 m northwest of the Chennakeshava temple gopura. The temple has a phamsana style shikara, square architectural plan, notable sukhanasi, much simpler artwork, with ruins of its mandapa scattered nearby.
 * Pathaleshwara Temple – a small Hoysala style Shiva temple with fine artwork, about 600 m east of the Chennakeshava temple gopura.
 * Amrutheswara temple ruins – a temple with a large temple tank, it was restored and expanded with a mandapa during the Vijayanagara-Nayaka period, but damaged and its parts scattered after the fall of Vijayanagara. The temple is about 800 m south of the Chennakeshava temple gopura. It provides a contrast between the Hoysala and Vijayanagara architectural styles.

World heritage and tourism
The Belur monuments, along with those at Halebidu are on the pending list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Nearby sites

 * Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu: it is 16 km from Belur, was capital of Hoysala and it was formerly called as Dwarasamudra. It has another famed collection of Hindu and Jain temples showing 12th century Hoysala architecture and artwork.
 * Bucesvara Temple, Koravangala – a twin temple near Hassan city that synthesizes the pre-Hoysala traditions of Hindu architecture, includes artwork from all three major Hindu traditions
 * Nageshvara-Chennakeshava Temple complex, Mosale – another major temple complex near Hassan city that presents Shaivism and Vaishnavism traditions together
 * Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi – a major three sanctum temples complex, about 25 kilometers from Belur, with beautiful carvings, preserved Vesara superstructure and a galaxy of artwork from all Hindu traditions
 * Lakshminarasimha Temple, Javagal – a triple sanctum shrine from the 13th century, with a galaxy of artwork from all Hindu traditions; A Vesara architecture, where the aedicule on the outer walls show many major variants of Dravida and Nagara shikhara (superstructure) styles; it is about 25 km northeast from Belur.
 * Lakshminarasimha Temple, Haranhalli – another triple sanctum 13th-century Hindu temple, with a complex two-storey Vesara-architecture, dedicated to Vishnu avatars, but includes major reliefs of Shaivism and Shaktism; about 45 km northeast from Belur.
 * Ishvara Temple, Arasikere – a Vesara and Hoysala architecture Hindu temple for Shiva that illustrates the dome-style Hindu architecture for mandapa built about a hundred years before the first invasion of Delhi Sultanate and the start of Deccan version of the Indo-Islamic architecture. It is about 60 kilometers east of Belur.
 * Lakshmi Devi Temple, Doddagaddavalli – one of the earliest Hoysala temples, four sanctums and beautifully carved
 * Shravanabelagola, Channarayapatna: a major group of many Jain and Hindu monuments; it is about 75 km southeast from Belur on National Highway 75, one of the most important Digambara Jainism pilgrimage site in South India.
 * Nuggehalli group of temples – about 80 kilometers to the east of Belur, with an ingenious structure that makes three sanctums appear as one sanctum from outside; a Vesara architecture from the 13th-century
 * Kesava Temple, Somanathapura: it is about 180 km southeast from Belur, another site of a major 13th century Hoysala temple and arts dedicated to Krishna and other forms of Vishnu.