LORD HOYALESWARA OF HALEBIDU

That is the glory of the exterior of the main temple. After going round it which incidentally completed the Pradakshana the visitors go inside. As the devotees enter, the elaborately carved and elegantly fashioned doorways adorned with splendid lintels along with the imposing Dwarapalakas and enchanting damsels bearing fly-whisks on both sides gleam into their sight. The first shrine has a porch with a niche on either side.

This Hoyaleswara temple has two cells, one dedicated to Hoyaleswara, the deity of Hoyasala dynasty; the other to Panchikeswara, but the lingam is here called by the additional name Santaleswara. Hence there are some conjunctures that the builder Ketamalla, with a view to perpetuating the memory of his Lord Vishnu Vardana and the queen-consort Santala Devi, named the temples after them. Thus Hoyaleswara stands for Vishnu Vardhana and Santaleswara for the queen Santala Devi. From this, it can be deduced that the shrines are the national memorials to the royal couple. 

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