Marvellous Architecture

Granite Pillars

The Temple has four, massive granite pillars right in front of the garbha-griham which holds Garuda Mantapa. These pillars are really beautiful with the artistic and intricate carving by Late Shilpi Ranjala Gopal Shenoy. He is a famous master sculptor and also has won many national awards. These pillars attracts the attention of each and every devotee  who visits the temple. These pillars are special because during its carving, attention has been paid on each and every minute carvings of it.The four pillars erected at the Garuda Mantap of the temple in 1940 are the architectural miracles. Each pillar narrates a different story. Small creatures like honeybees, spiders and butterflies are meticulously carved on the pillar. The movable chains carved out of a single stone are examples for the fineness and dexterity of the work. The brain behind the wonderful carvings is the well-known sculptor Ranjala Gopala Shenoy who specially selected the granite from Nellikar, a village near Karkala taluk for the purpose.

[singlepic id=129 w=400 h=350 mode=watermark float=left]

[singlepic id=136 w=400 h=350 mode=watermark float=left]

[singlepic id=131 w=400 h=350 mode=watermark float=left]

[singlepic id=134 w=400 h=350 mode=watermark float=left]

One pillar has the carvings of a scene of lizards moving on the pillar. Where as another pillar has carvings of branches of grapes on it, the grapes appear to be real and really hanging from the pillar. One more exquisite carving is that of a depicted scene in which an offspring of a Sparrow is waiting to be fed by its mother keeping its mouth open and its mother is feeding it a worm. The actual feeding of the worm by the mother Sparrow to its offspring has been very finely carved on the pillar. One will be filled with joy and wonder by looking at
such an inspiring art and architecture.

[singlepic id=146 w=400 h=350 mode=watermark float=left]

[singlepic id=145 w=400 h=350 mode=watermark float=left]

[singlepic id=142 w=350 h=350 mode=watermark float=left]

[singlepic id=146 w=400 h=350mode=watermark float=left]

[singlepic id=140 w=400 h=350 mode=watermark float=left]