Hara Temple, Hariharapura
A four-hundred-year-old Shiva temple carved on three sides with the entire Ramayana.
About a kilometre upstream from the Hariharapura matha, on the bank of the Tunga, stands a Shiva temple roughly four centuries old. Its outer walls are carved on three sides with the whole Ramayana, panel after panel, and because almost nobody comes here you can read your way round it at your own pace with nobody at your shoulder.
What to do here
- Read the Ramayana sequence around three walls
- Walk up along the Tunga from the matha
- Photograph the reliefs in low morning light
The most complete narrative relief sequence in this part of the district, and entirely unguarded by ticket counters or queues.
History
The temple dates to around the seventeenth century and belongs to the wave of Malnad temple building that followed the Vijayanagara period, under Keladi and local patronage.
Travel tips
A one-kilometre walk upstream from the Hariharapura matha, or a short drive. Morning light is much better for the carvings. Ask at the matha if the temple is locked.
Please note
Do: photograph the exterior carvings freely; they are the reason to come. Do: remove footwear before entering. Don't: touch or rub the reliefs — the stone is soft and four hundred years old. Don't: climb on the plinth or the walls.
Combine your trip
Places near Hara Temple, Hariharapura
Hariharapura Sharada Peetham
A Shankaracharya foundation on the Tunga that almost no visitor to Sringeri ever hears about.
Kopada Veerabhadra Temple, Koppa
The temple the town is named for, in the middle of areca country.
TempleVidyashankara Temple, Sringeri
Fourteenth-century Vijayanagara stone, with twelve zodiac pillars that catch the sun month by month.
Rishyashringa Temple, Kigga
The rain-bringer's shrine, ten kilometres above Sringeri in the rainforest.