A Gopura is an entryway that stands tall at all southern Indian temples. These are tapering structures are usually ornate and multi-storied. One enters a temple or a temple complex through a Gopura.
This golden-hued Gopura at the Chennakeshava temple is in the middle of a boundary wall that surrounds the temple. According to inscriptions, the original structure built by the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana was demolished in an attack by the Delhi Sultanate. This seven-storied Gopura that stands on firm granite pillars was later rebuilt by the Vijaynagar King Harihara II in the year 1397. The inscriptions sing praises of King Harihara who not only rebuilt the Gopura, but also reinstated the temple grants and 67 services to Lord Keshava started by King Vishnuvardhana.
The Chennakeshava temple is in the state of Karnataka in the town of Beluru. The many inscriptions carved on the walls of the temple and on standalone stones have well preserved the history of the Hoysala dynasty and the temple. The inscriptions call this town Velapura which has eventually become Beluru.
King Vishnuvardhana was the first Hoysala ruler who declared independence from his overlords, the Chalukyas. Vishnuvardhana was unstoppable after his independence. He won against a formidable opponent, the Cholas from the state of Tamil Nadu. Cholas had long occupied Talakadu, a province near Mysore in Karnataka. Vishnuvardhana is lauded for bringing Talakadu back to being a Kannada province.
To commemorate his victory against the Cholas, King Vishnuvardhana built a temple for Vijaya Narayana in Beluru. Vijaya means Victory and Narayana is a name of Lord Vishnu. However, over the years the deity came to be known as Chennakeshava – the beautiful Keshava. The legend has it that the deity was so good-looking, people started referring to it as Chenna-Keshava rather than Vijaya-Narayana. Keshava is another name of Lord Vishnu and ‘Chenna’ translates to ‘a thing of beauty’ in Kannada.
The Chennakeshava temple was built in the year 1117 and the work took nearly a hundred years and three generations to complete. This architectural marvel had more than twenty-thousand skilled sculptors and lakhs of laborers working on it. The Kings in ancient times built temples not only to showcase their power and prosperity but also to encourage art and provide employment. The Beluru temple was built by King Vishnuvardhana for the same purposes.
The temple is built according to Vastu Shastra and Agama Shastra, the ancient Hindu sciences of architecture. The fact that the temple stands firm even after a thousand years is testimony to the sound principles it was built on.