Kedareshwara Temple, Halebidu

The Kedareshwara Temple stands a short way from the Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebidu, Hassan district. It was built by Veera Ballala II, Hoysala king from 1173 to 1220, together with his queen Ketaladevi, and was complete before 1219. The main deity is Shiva as Ishwara. The Archaeological Survey of India protects it as a monument of national importance.

Built of soapstone, the temple rises on a jagati, a platform five to six feet high reached by steps, which lets visitors walk around the building and look closely at its walls. It is a trikuta, with three shrines opening through vestibules onto a central hall; the main shrine is star-shaped. The tower over each shrine and the images in all three sanctums are now lost. Bands of relief around the base show animals and scenes from the Puranas, and though it is a Shiva temple the carvings draw on both Shaiva and Vaishnava stories, among them a dancing Bhairava and Krishna raising Govardhana.