Siddheshwara Temple, Haveri

The Siddheshwara Temple, locally Purada Siddeshwara, stands at the east end of Haveri town in Karnataka. Built of soapstone, it is a richly decorated piece of 12th-century Western Chalukyan art, though inscriptions suggest a first consecration in the late 11th century. Unusually for a Chalukyan temple it faces west, not east. It is a Shiva temple today, but historians are unsure of its first faith or deity: it may have been built for Vishnu, passed to the Jains and later to Shaiva worshippers.

The whole basement has sunk a few feet, so the open hall is reached by stepping down. The hall holds sculptures of Uma Maheshvara, with Uma on Shiva's lap, Vishnu with Lakshmi, Surya, a naga and nagini with tails entwined, Ganapati and Kartikeya. Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu appear above the vestibule door, which has pierced stone windows on either side, ceiling panels show the seven mothers, and the sanctum holds a plain linga.