Bucesvara Temple, Koravangala

The Bucesvara temple stands on the north side of Koravangala village, about 12 km north-east of Hassan and 35 km south-west of the Hoysala capital Halebidu. It was built in 1173 by a wealthy officer named Buchi, or Buchiraja, and its inscription marks the coronation of King Veera Ballala II. Koravangala was then a major town with at least six temples on the eastern bank of a man-made lake. The ASI protects it as a monument of national importance.

The most accomplished of the village's temples, it is a dvikuta whose two shrines face each other across closed and open halls: the eastern one holds a Shiva linga, the other an image of Surya. The three-storey tower is finely carved, with a Nataraja and the Hoysala crest and an almost perfect kalasa on top. The walls balance Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta imagery with panels from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana, and the open hall has fine ceilings and glossy lathe-turned pillars.