Halebidu, Karnataka · 13.2129°, 75.9950°
The largest Hoysala temple, a twin shrine at the old capital Dorasamudra, wrapped in an unbroken sculptural belt — 340 large reliefs and thousands of frieze figures narrating the epics. Sacked by Malik Kafur's forces in 1311, city and court never recovered ('Halebidu' means 'old ruined city'), but the temple endures as a museum of medieval imagination.
Its friezes are a stone encyclopedia: Ravana lifting Kailasa, Krishna raising Govardhana, and — as guides delight in showing — no two of the 340 panels alike.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Hoysala