Lakshminarasimha Temple, Haranhalli

The Lakshminarasimha temple at Haranhalli, about 35 km from both Halebidu and Hassan in Karnataka, is one of two historic Hindu temples surviving in the village, the other being the Someshvara temple to Shiva some 300 metres east. Both are in the Vesara style of Hoysala architecture and were finished in the 1230s by three rich brothers, Peddanna Heggade, Sovanna and Kesanna. Inscriptions show it was first dedicated to Kesava and only later renamed. It is a protected monument under the ASI.

The temple is a trikuta, with three shrines off a common hall, but only the central one has a tower, so from a distance it looks like a single-shrine temple. The three sanctums hold images of Vishnu as Venugopala, Keshava and Lakshminarasimha. It stands on a moulded platform that doubles as a circumambulation path. The outer walls carry panels of mainly Vaishnava deities in turreted niches, and the central tower and its projecting sukhanasi are intact, though the kalasa at the top is missing.