Hoysala Dynasty: Kings, Capital, Literature and Architecture

The Hoysala Dynasty was a powerful state located in Karnataka. The rulers of the Hoysala dynasty came to power after defeating the rulers of the Western Chalukya dynasty. This dynasty ruled from the 10th to 14th centuries AD. The most important contributions of this dynasty were in architecture and literature enriched in both Kannada and Sanskrit languages. Below is a discussion of some important rulers of this dynasty, social life, administrative system, and architecture.

Brief Information of Hoysala Dynasty

• Hoysala Dynasty Reign: 10th to 14th century AD (1026-1346 CE).
• Hoysala Dynasty Founder: The founder of Hoysala Dynasty was “Sala” or “Sal,” also known as Nripa Kama II. This dynasty was named after him.
• The last ruler of Hoysala Dynasty was: Veera Ballala IV.
• Capital of Hoysala Dynasty: Various rulers would change the capital during their reign for convenience of work. There are mentions of the capital being changed three times in total. Sosavur, Present Day Angadi (1026-1048 CE), Belur (1048-1062 CE), and Dwarasamudra (also called Dorasamudra or Dvaravatipur), Present Day Halebidu (1062-1300 CE).
• The Religion of Hoysala Dynasty: Shaivism, Jainism. The three famous philosophers of this time were Basava, Madhvacharya, and Ramanuja, who influenced the religious society of that time.
• Administration and common language: Kannada and Sanskrit.
• Preceded by: the Western Chalukya Dynasty.
• Succeeded by: Vijayanagara Empire.

Hoysala Dynasty Kings

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Important Rulers and their Contribution to Hoysala Dynasty

Vinayaditya

• After conquering the Ganga dynasty, Vinayaditya took the title “Ganga Vikram.” Vinayaditya’s first capital was Sosavur, which he shifted to Dwarasamudra in 1062 AD.
• Jain saints Shantidev and Gunasendev were patronized in his court. Vinayaditya is credited with the victory of Jannathpur (Vijayawada or Vengi) against the Cholas on behalf of Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI.
• His queen Hoysala Devi donated to the temple Mallikeshwar in Kalyani.

Ereyanga

• Vinayaditya’s son Ereyanga attacked Dhara city on behalf of Chalukya king Someshwara II and captured Chakrakot, Kalinga, and Balayapatna.

Vishnuvardhana, also Known as Bittiga

• Vishnuvardhana was the true founder of the Hoysala Dynasty. Early in childhood, he was more oriented toward Jainism, but later, under Ramanuja’s influence, he converted to Vaishnavism. From 1017 until 1037 AD, Ramanuja was in his court.
• In 1123 AD, Shantala Devi, the wife of Vishnuvardhana, built the Gandhavarana Basadi Shravanabelagola for the Jain monks.
• It is known from the Gadag inscription that Vishnuvardhan dethroned Parmara king Jagdev from the throne and made his brother the king there.
• With the help of his commander Gangaraj, he opened a front against the Cholas. Among the Chola generals, Adiyam and Narasinga Varman were killed, Damodar was defeated, and the fort of Talakad came under the control of Hoysalas.
• Vishnuvardhan first rebelled against the Chalukyas and assumed the imperial title of Chalukya of Kalyani from Tribhuvanamaldev in 1117 AD, and after conquering Kannegal, crossed the Tungabhadra River and directly attacked the main Chalukya areas in the northern direction.
• Inspired by his successes, the Pandyas of Uchchangi and the Kadambas of Goa also declared their independence by driving Bose from the Chalukya throne.
• During his time, some gold coins of the Hoysala Dynasty were found. These gold coins were called “Honnu” or “Gadyana.” In addition, some other coins were found called “Tara,” “Bele,” and “Kani.”

Veera Ballala II

• He was the most powerful, successful, and first prosperous ruler of the Hoysala Dynasty.
• After gaining complete independence from the Chalukyas, he was formally coronated in 1163 AD and assumed the titles of ‘Veer Ganga Kadamba’ and ‘Jagadekamalla’.
• The 1189 AD battle of Soratur took place between Commander Jaitugi of Seuna Dynasty (Yadava Dynasty) ruler Bhillama V and Veera Ballala II.
• He celebrated the victory over Bhillam Pancham, and Yadava of Devagiri started a new era.

Veera Narasimha II

• He assumed the title of ‘Chola Rajya Pratishapanacharya’ on the occasion of freeing the Chola ruler Rajaraja III from the subjugation of Sundar Pandya.

Veera Ballala III

• During the reign of Alauddin Khilji, in 1310-11 AD, the Hoysala ruler Veera Bhalala III accepted the subordination of the Delhi Sultanate.

Veera Ballala IV

• Veer Vallal IV was the last ruler of Hoysala dynasty.
• During the reign of Vijayanagara ruler Harihara I, his brother Bukka I conquered the Hoysala kingdom and merged it into Vijayanagara.

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Administration under Hoysala Dynasty

For administrative convenience, the Hoysala kings divided the kingdom into several provinces, which were called Nadu, Vishaya, Kampana, and Desha. Every province had a local government that reported all information to the Dandanayaka, who was in charge of the province. In addition, there was a Minister (Mahapradhana) and a Treasurer (Bhandari) in each province.

To protect the royal family, there were bodyguards called “Garudas.” Various inscriptions reveal that if the bodyguards died while protecting the king for any reason, the king would build Hero stones (virgal) in their memory, which were called “Garuda Pillars.”

One such Garuda pillar was found in an Old Kannada Inscription from 1220 AD at the Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu, Karnataka. In this Garuda Pillar, King Veera Ballala II had engraved the name of his minister and bodyguard, Kuvara Lakshma, in honor and memory of him.

Social life of Hoysala Dynasty

At that time, the caste system, Devadasi system, prostitution, voluntary Sati practice, etc. were prevalent in society. However, in some cases, women were also skilled in administrative work, dance, and various types of fine arts. One such administratively skilled woman was Umadevi, wife of King Veera Ballala II. When Veera Ballala II was busy with military campaigns to conquer the northern regions, Umadevi took charge of the kingdom and also suppressed some Feudal Rebels. Tungabhadra district was administered by Padmaladevi, the second queen of Bir Ballala II.

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Literature of Hoysala Dynasty

During the reign of this dynasty, literature flourished in both Kannada and Sanskrit languages. Some famous poets were patronized by the rulers of the Hoysala Dynasty; they were Janna, Rudrabhatta, Harihara, and his nephew Raghavanka.

Janna

In 1209 AD, Janna was a famous Jain scholar in the court of King Veera Ballala II, who wrote ‘Yashodharacharita’ in the Kannada language. For this significant work, Veera Ballala II gave him the title of “Emperor among Poets” (Kavichakravarthi).

The main subject of this book is that a king took two young boys to the temple of the local deity Mariamma for sacrifice. But the king, moved by compassion, stopped the sacrifice and banned the practice of human sacrifice.

Rudrabhatta

King Veera Ballala II was the greatest ruler of the Hoysala Dynasty. Jain scholar Rudrabhatta was patronized by his minister, Chandramouli. Based on Vishnu Purana, he wrote ‘Jagannatha Vijaya’ in Champu Style. The main subject of this book is the story of Krishna’s battle with Demon Banasura.

Harihara

Harihara, or Harisvara, was one of the prominent Lingayati writers. He adorned the court of the sixth ruler of this dynasty, King Narasimha I. Like Rudrabhatta, he wrote ‘Girijakalyana’ in Champu style. The main subject of the book was the marriage of Shiva and Parvati in ten sections.

Raghavanka

Raghavanka wrote ‘Harishchandra Kavya’ in the Kannada language.

Madhvacharya

Madhvacharya wrote ‘Rigbhshya’ in Sanskrit based on Brahma Sutras. In writing this book, he relied more on the Puranas than the Vedas. At the same time, a scholar named Vidyatirtha wrote the book ‘Rudraprshnabhashya’.

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Hoysala Dynasty Architecture

In Hoysala architecture, features of North Indian Nagara Style Architecture and South Indian Dravidian Style Architecture can be seen. Because of this combined style, the architecture of the Hoysala dynasty is called the “Vesara style of architecture.”

Some temples of the Hoysala dynasty were built in the Vesara style of architecture, and their features are:

Features of Hoysala Dynasty Temples

• The rulers of this dynasty, influenced by the Nagara style of temple architecture, kept the curvilinear Shikhar and the shape of the temples square from the Nagara style.
• Influenced by Dravidian Style Architecture, features like steeped shikhara, the design of Vimana, and intricate carvings on the sculptures complex shapes of designs are notable in the temples of this dynasty.
• More emphasis was given to the carvings of the Vimana (main temple tower) and Mandapas of the temples. The Vimana was mainly pyramid-shaped. Open ambulatory passageways (Pradakshinapatha) can be seen in the temples. The polished pillars, doorways, and ceilings were decorated with intricate carvings.
• Depending on the number of Vimanas, the existing temples are divided into several categories: Ekakuta (one), Dvikuta (two), Trikuta (three), Chatushkuta (four), and Panchakuta (five). Most of the Hoysala architecture temples had Ekakuta, Dvikuta, and Trikuta, but the Vaishnava temples often had Trikuta.
• Several shrines were constructed within the central pillared hall. The shrines are shaped like a beautifully shaped star. This was termed as the stellate plan.
• The Hoysala rulers built the temples with soft soapstone. Evidence of skilled and expert craftsmanship was found on both the outer and inner walls of the temples.
• The wall and stairs had a Zigzag pattern. Temples were built on an upraised (star) platform known as jagati.

Temples of Hoysala Dynasty

Most of the temples of the Hoysala dynasty were Vishnu and Shiva temples. The names of the temples, their founders, construction period, worshipped deity, and what type of vimana they had are mentioned below:

• Name of the Temple: Chennakesava Temple at Belur 
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Vishnu 
  • Construction period: 1117 CE 
  • Founder: Hoyasala king Vishnuvardhana 
  • Type of Vimana: Ekakuta vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Chennakesava Temple at Somanathapura 
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Vishnu 
  • Construction period: 1258 – 1279 CE 
  • Founder: Somanatha Dandanayaka, a general of the Hoysala King Narasimha III 
  • Type of Vimana: Trikuta vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu 
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Shiva 
  • Construction period: 1121 – 1160 CE 
  • Founder: Vishnuvardhana 
  • Type of Vimana: Dvikuta Vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Lakshmi Devi Temple at Doddagadduvalli 
  • Worshipped deity: Mahalakshmi 
  • Construction period: 1113 CE 
  • Founder: Kullahana Rahuta and Sahaj Devi 
  • Type of Vimana: Chatuskuta Vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Panchalingeshwara Temple at Govindanahalli 
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Shiva (dedicated to Panch Ling) 
  • Construction period: Around 1238 AD 
  • Founder: Vira Someshwara 
  • Type of Vimana: Panchakuta Vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Nuggehalli village, Hassan district 
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Vishnu 
  • Construction period: 1246 CE 
  • Founder: King Vira Someshwara, Commander Bommanna Dandanayaka 
  • Type of Vimana: Trikuta vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Ishvara Temple, Arsikere village, Hassan district 
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Shiva 
  • Construction period: 1220 CE 
  • Founder: Narasimha II 
  • Type of Vimana: Shrine Vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Amruteshvara Temple, Amruthapura, Chikkamagaluru district 
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Shiva (Linga) 
  • Construction period: 1196 CE 
  • Founder: Veera Ballala II 
  • Type of Vimana: Ekakuta vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi village, Chikkamagaluru district 
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Vishnu 
  • Construction period: 1200 CE 
  • Founder: King Veera Ballala II 
  • Type of Vimana: Trikuta vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Lakshminarayana Temple, Hosaholalu village, Mandya district 
  • Worshipped deity: Lakshmi Narayan (Lord Vishnu) 
  • Construction period: 1250 CE 
  • Founder: King Vira Someshwara 
  • Type of Vimana: Trikuta vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Chennakeshava Temple, Aralaguppe village  
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Vishnu  
  • Construction period: 1250 CE  
  • Founder: King Vira Someshwara  
  • Type of Vimana: Ekakuta vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Bucesvara Temple (Bhucheshvara temple), Koravangala village  
  • Worshipped deity: Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism  
  • Construction period: 1173 CE  
  • Founder: Veera Ballala II  
  • Type of Vimana: Dvikuta vimana 

• Name of the Temple: Lakshminarasimha Temple at Haranhalli   
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Vishnu   
  • Construction period: 1235 CE   
  • Founder: King Vira Someshwara   
  • Type of Vimana: Trikuta vimana   

• Name of the Temple: Nageshvara-Chennakeshava Temple   
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu   
  • Construction period: 1250 CE   
  • Founder: King Veera Ballala II   
  • Type of Vimana: Ekakuta vimana   

• Name of the Temple: Mallikarjuna Temple, Basaralu village, Mandya district, Karnataka   
  • Worshipped deity: Lord Shiva   
  • Construction period: 1234 AD   
  • Founder: Harihara and Dhannayaka during the rule of King Vira Narasimha II   
  • Type of Vimana: Ekakuta vimana

Hoysala Dynasty FAQ’s