Sectarianism in Medieval India: Saiva, Vaisnava, and Syncretistic Temple Architecture in Karnataka

The research for this book was motivated by speculations about the religious movements that may have influenced the plans and arrangements of temples built by the Hoysalas of Karnataka in the period between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It investigates the causes for the accelerated pace of these constructions; enquires about what served as catalysts for the incorporation of multiple shrines within structures; examines the factors that gave momentum to the sanctification of a variety of deities within them; and studies the characteristics of their style as it was manifested in the temples they commissioned. Thought the finest of these are in the Imperial Hoysala Style (in either the Halebid or Koravangala types), all of the architectural output does not necessarily fall into these categories, some displaying a plurality of characteristics from earlier regional idioms. However, the differences between the two are revealing as they serve to highlight the really ground breaking innovations introduced by the Hoysalas.