Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal

Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Javagal is one of the lost temples of Lord Narasimha in Karnataka. It is a very beautiful temple built during the Hoysala dynasty. King Veera Someshwara who was a 9^th King of the Hoysala dynasty, built Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal during 1240-1260 AD. It was carved under the guidance of a 13^th century sculptor Mallitamma. This temple is a Trikutachala Temple containing three grabha-grihas.

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple is in Javagal village within Hassan district in Karnataka. Javagal village still withholds the village life centred around Vedic atmosphere and a lush green landscape. This temple is one among the topmost places to visit but seldomly visited by the tourists.

Vigrahas of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal

The presiding Deity of Lakshmi Narasimha temple Javagal is Lord Sri Vishnu as Lord Sri Sridhara who is present in the central garbha-griha. On the left (south) is the garbha-griha of Lord Sri Venugopal playing the flute and, on the right (north), is Lord Sri Lakshmi Narasimha with His consort Lakshmi.

Here Lord Venugopal is depicted in His childhood age, and hence He is seen without a crown. All the vigrahas in the temple are carved out of a shaligrama shila.

Architecture of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal

The entrance of the temple is very beautifully made to stand out compared to other Hoysala Temples. First there is a Maha-dwara or Rajagopura which is attended by charming elephants.  Temple Complex is surrounded by a high walled compound which was constructed later during the Vijayanagara period.

In front of the temple there is Garuda Stambha and Jaya and Vijaya – the two dwarapalakas. The whole entrance projects out from the main temple which is a very rare style of construction.

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha temple Javagal stands on an elevated or raised platform known as Jagati. Extraordinarily beautiful sculptures on the outer walls are unique in design when compared to other Hoysala temples. These pillars are machine turned pillars. The entire temple is well designed and perfectly planned.

The temple plan is quite simple and is based on the Hoysala architecture style. It is a trikutachala temple, though only the garbha-griha which is in centre has a vimana gopura and a sukhanasi over the vestibule. The three garbha-grihas are equal in size and are all square shaped and are connected by a common mantapa.

Since the other two garbha-grihas have no vimana gopura and are directly connected to the main mantapa without a vestibule, they do not appear like separate grabha-gribhas from the outside. Rather, they appear to have been connected into the walls of the main hall. However, the garbha-griha which is in centre is clearly visible from the outside because of its unique vimana gopura, and the sukhanasi that prominently projects outside from the gopura.

The lower part of three garbha-grihas has five projections per side; only the garbha-griha which is in centre, its projections are visible on three sides but only one side is visible for other two garbha-grihas.

Now, come outside the temple, as you go on a clockwise pradakshina. The external wall’s sculptures are lavish. The outer walls are decorated with peculiar sculptures that have decorative towers above them.

There are 140 wall panel images, each made with attention to fine details. Notable among them are Rama and Lakshmana, Badrinarayana, and Ananta Padmanabha. On the outer wall of temple one can find the sculpture of Lord Narayana in 24 different forms. All these forms are chaturbhuja form holding shankha, chakra, gada and padma in different permutations and combinations as enshrined in the shastras.

Harihara, Brahma, Parvati, Tandava Ganesha and many sculptures are seen too. The toran shows Kaliya Mardana Lila.

Below this, at the base there are six equal-width rectangular bands with architectural decoration. Starting from the top, the first band depicts hamsa (birds), makara in the second, sculptures from Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Lord Sri Krishna’s charitra is carved in third band, leafy scrolls in the fourth, horses in the fifth, and the elephants in the sixth band.

There are two small shrines in the complex dedicated to Maha-Ganapati on the left and Chamundeshwari on the right. The ceiling of the Maha-Ganapati shrine has 108 Deities of Ganapati.

Temple Timings of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha temple Javagal

Javagal Laskhmi Narasimha temple is open throughout the year every day, from 6 AM to 7 PM.

How to reach Laskhmi Narasimha Temple Javagal?

The best way to reach Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal is to join Tirtha Yatra and get your tour organized.

By Road: Lakshmi Narasimha temple Javagal is 210 kms from Bengaluru, 40 kms from Hassan. Taxis are available from these locations.

By Rail: Hassan railway station is the nearest railway station to Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Javagal. It is well-connected by important towns of India.

By Air: The nearest airport is at Bengaluru. Buses and private taxies are available from these airport location