Somanathapura, Karnataka · 12.2772°, 76.8858°
The most perfect and best-preserved statement of the Hoysala style: a compact three-shrined temple on a star-shaped platform, every band of its walls carved — elephants, cavalry, scrolls, epics, and deities — like lathe-turned jewellery in stone. The last great Hoysala temple, finished a lifetime before the dynasty fell.
Its sculptors signed their work — names like Mallitamma appear under dozens of panels, a rare medieval assertion of individual artistry.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Hoysala