Vidyashankara Temple, Sringeri
Fourteenth-century Vijayanagara stone, with twelve zodiac pillars that catch the sun month by month.
The Vidyashankara temple stands in the Sringeri math complex beside the Sharadamba shrine, and it is the finest single piece of architecture in the district. Built in the fourteenth century, it fuses Hoysala and Dravida idioms in a way that almost nothing else does. Its twelve pillars carry the signs of the zodiac, and they are set so that the sun falls on the pillar of the current solar month — a calendar built into the building.
What to do here
- Find the zodiac pillar for the current month
- Walk the outer wall for the carved horses and yalis
- Combine with the Sharadamba shrine and the Tunga riverfront
- Take the math's prasada meal, served to all visitors
The clearest surviving demonstration in Karnataka of the transition between Hoysala and Vijayanagara temple building, and an astronomical instrument as much as a shrine.
History
Raised in memory of Vidyashankara Tirtha, the guru of the Sringeri lineage, with Vijayanagara patronage in the 1300s. The temple sits at the heart of the math Adi Shankaracharya founded here in the eighth century.
Travel tips
Inside the Sringeri math complex, about 95 km from Chikmagalur town. Footwear and leather are left at the stands outside. Mornings before the mid-day break are calmest. Photography rules vary by area — check the boards.
Please note
Do: dress conservatively; shoulders and knees covered. Do: leave footwear, belts, wallets and bags with leather at the counter. Don't: photograph inside the sanctum or where signs prohibit it. Don't: touch the carvings. Don't: fish in the Tunga below the temple — the fish are protected and feeding them is the local custom instead.
Combine your trip
Places near Vidyashankara Temple, Sringeri
Rishyashringa Temple, Kigga
The rain-bringer's shrine, ten kilometres above Sringeri in the rainforest.
WaterfallSirimane Falls
A stepped, family-friendly fall near Kigga
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.