What is the sthala katha — the legend — of Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi?

High medieval · Hindu · India

Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi

ವೀರ ನಾರಾಯಣ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಬೆಳವಾಡಿ

Belavadi, Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka · 13.2820°, 75.9961°

Vishnu as Veeranarayana, with Yoga-Narasimha and VenugopalaHoysalaHoysala

Sacred since

1200 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

c. 1200 (Hoysala)

Hoysala

History & significance

A three-shrined Hoysala temple completed around 1200 under Veera Ballala II, with the central sanctum holding Veeranarayana and flanking shrines for Yoga-Narasimha and Venugopala. Its stellate plan and Vesara superstructures make it one of the larger surviving Hoysala trikuta layouts.

Sthala katha — the legend

Local tradition traces the village to the Mahabharata, holding that the Pandava prince Bhima killed the demon Bakasura here and delivered the settlement.

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