Sadashiva Temple, Nuggehalli

The Sadashiva temple in Nuggehalli (Nuggihalli), Hassan district, is a Shiva temple completed around 1249 by Bommanna Dandanayaka, a commander under the Hoysala king Vira Someshwara. The town, known in the past as Vijaya Somanathapura, became an agrahara, a centre of learning, in his time. The temple stands east of the Lakshmi Narasimha temple, near the old reservoir north-east of the village.

It is an unusual Hoysala design and is regarded as a fine example of the nagara style: a single shrine on a star-shaped, octagonal plan, rising to a north Indian quasi-Bhumija tower, combined with south Indian ideas. Built of soapstone on a raised platform, its walls are plain, without sculpture. Inside are a large linga, an equally large and finely carved Nandi in a hall with perforated stone windows, a life-size standing Parvati and a set of navagraha images facing each other. The hall also holds free-standing images of Chamundeshwari, Kartikeya, Ganesha, Kala Bhairava, Surya and the avatars of Vishnu.