Hoyasala kingdom in Karnataka rose after the fall of Chalukya empire during the eleventh century. The kingdom is known for the Belur and Halebeedu temples that were constructed during the period. But other than these, many other temples are strewn across the Southern Karnataka, some completely in ruins and some in better condition. The temples are decorated with statues depicting popular Hindu gods and godesses.
 |
| The Hoyasala temple at Somnathapura |
 |
| A panel from the Laxminarayana temple at Hosaholalu |
But who was this man who founded this kingdom? As history goes, it was Nripakama II, who was originally a vassal of the Western Chalukya kings. Vishnuvardhana had been the most illustrious king of the dynasty, who declared independence of the Hoyasalas from the Chalukya rule.
The origin of the name "Hoyasala" is interesting. As the legend goes, the ancestors of the family can be traced to a person called Sala, who had been extraordinarily brave. He had a Jain saint as his guru (teacher). One day, when a tiger attacked the guru, Sala jumped into the foray with an iron rod. To cheer up Sala, the guru started shouting "Hoyah Sala", "Hoyah Sala". And from then on, the man was called Hoyasala. It is said that Sala fought the tiger dead, and the event had been the emblem of the kingdom.
 |
Hoyasala emblem: Sala killing a tiger (Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons) |
The Hoyasala kingdom came to its end under the attack of Delhi Sultanate, most prominently by Malik Kafur (general of Alauddin Khilji) and Mohammad Bin Tuglaq. Eventually, it merged with the Vijayanagara Empire in the fourteenth century.
No comments:
Post a Comment