Vishnuvardhana raised the Chennakeshava temple, in 1117 on the usual account, after the victory at Talakad, and endowed it.
By 1200 it is eighty-three years old, with the Veeranarayana temple and further shrines in its enclosure, and is the premier Vaishnava house of the Hoysala country. It held temple lands by royal grant (the inscriptions are not re-read here).
Who holds it
- Title
- Temple trustees and priests (Srivaishnava)
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No head is named in any source we read.
Overlord
Veera Ballala II
What it holds
- temple lands by royal grant
- the car festival
How it was acquired
By Vishnuvardhana's foundation of 1117.
Allies and rivals
Held close to the Hoysala court.
How things stand that morning
A royal foundation under the Hoysala king's patronage; quiet.
Wealth
Royal endowments and pilgrim offerings; no figure.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Temple and date are firm; the estates are inferred.
Primary sources for Hoysala kingdom
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Epigraphia Carnatica: inscriptions of the Mysore country, Various (Hoysala chancery and temple scribes), edited by B. Lewis Rice and R. Narasimhachar (inscriptions of the 4th to 19th centuries; the series ran from 1886 to 1905, revised from 1972). The Hoysala kingdom of Veera Ballala II (reigning 1173 to 1220) is documented almost wholly by the inscriptions in this series, arranged by district and taluk with full English translations. Read online
- Inscriptions of the Silaharas, Various (Silahara chanceries), edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 9th to 13th centuries; edited 1977). Collects the records of the three Silahara houses: North Konkan (Thana), South Konkan, and Kolhapur.
- Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
- South Indian Inscriptions (Archaeological Survey of India), Various (Chola, Pandya and other chanceries and temple scribes), edited by E. Hultzsch, V. Venkayya, H. Krishna Sastri and successors (inscriptions of the 7th to 17th centuries; the series ran from 1890). The temple inscriptions printed here are the primary record of the Tamil country in 1200. Read online
Sources and studies
- Hoysala Empire, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- Hoysala architecture, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead, checked against the other sources)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.