Nagareshvara Temple, Bankapura

The Nagareshvara Temple in Bankapura, Haveri district, is also called Aravattarukambhada Gudi, the 'temple with sixty-six columns'. It is a 12th-century Western Chalukya building, and inscriptions dated 1091 and 1138 record grants to the god Nagaresvaradeva, while two shorter ones open with a salute to Shambhu, a name of Shiva. Bankapura's fort was among the key strongholds of medieval Karnataka, and the temple was badly damaged when it fell to Firoz Shah Bahamani in 1406 and again under the Adil Shahis of Bijapur. It is a Monument of National Importance.

Built of soapstone, it has a shrine, a vestibule, a closed hall and a large open hall, with a Nandi pavilion facing the now empty sanctum. Slender pilasters topped with miniature towers space out the outer walls. The great hall is the highlight: its lathe-turned, bell-shaped pillars in dark grey soapstone are polished enough to catch the light, the ceiling panels carry rosettes with kirtimukhas, and a central domed ceiling rises in concentric rings. Reliefs show Shiva, Vishnu, Ganapati, Brahma and Kali.