Mallikarjuna Temple, popularly known locally as Eshwara temple was built during the Hoysala period. According to a stone inscription on display at the temple’s entrance, It was built in the year 1235 CE by Harihara Nayaka – a chieftain serving under the Hoysala King Veera Narasimha Nayaka II. The temple is a classic example of Vesara style of temple architecture

Basaralu Mallikarjuna Temple is a tri-koota temple consisting of three Garbha Grihas. The entire temple stands on a star shaped foundation / platform with plinth that is about 3 feet in height over ground. There is enough space on this platform between the temple wall and the edge of the platform. This allows the devotees to circumambulate around the temple, this also allows visitors to explore the stunning beauty of the temple exteriors.

The northern door of the temple is adorned with two elephants on either side but there are no signs of dwarapalakas or the stone-carved guards one would generally find at the temple’s entrance. At the southern door, there again are two large elephants on either side of the door. There is only one dwarapalaka statue to be seen at this door. There is a good possibility that the second dwarapalaka statue might have gotten damaged beyond repair and thus removed from the site. The one dwarapalaka statue that exists is largely intact but for the arm that has been broken and the face that has been smashed badly. Yet, due to the iconography, we can guess that this could be a statue of Mahakala.

The temple exterior can be divided into 3 distinct parts – the plinth or the base, the sculptures and finally the shikhara or the tower portion. Rising from the platform level, the temple plinth is built in layers. The base portion of the temple that comes up to 3 feet in height consists of 6 distinct layers.

The first layer at the bottom consists of an array of elephants marching. The elephants on the same panel are marching together in same direction but even a casual observer will notice that none of the elephants are carved alike in their march. To carve so many small elephants in different postures of walk is a marvel of craftsmanship.

The second layer consists of horses. Some horses have soldiers seated on them, engaged in a battle with foot soldiers or mounted soldiers.

The third layer consists of a series of tigers. At a few key places along the series, you will notice a man fighting the tiger – this is the royal insignia of the Hoysala dynasty during whose period this temple was built.

The fourth layer is the most interesting among all the six panels. This panel consists of a series of episodes from various epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. If you set out to narrate each story carved on these panels, you might end up with a mega novel. The details, the depictions and the iconography is very easy to relate to and a single statue can transform into a tale.

The fifth layer consists of the mythical beast – Makara – an animal with a face composed of lion’s mane, crocodile’s snout and elephant’s trunk, the torso is made of up boar’s body including short legs and the tail is borrowed from peacock. Several hundreds of these makaras run along the perimeter of the temple and sometimes converge into another mythical creature called Yali.

The sixth layer consists of peacocks running along the perimeter of the temple wall. These six layers for approximately the bottom 3 feet of the temple.

Above the base panel, there are a series of large sculptures that run along the wall. Each sculpture is approximately 4 feet tall, depicting Gods and Goddesses in various avatars and various episodes from Puranas. In all, there are over 100 very finely carved sculptures, and each sculpture has a story to narrate.

The most distinct ones or the most notable ones among the sculptures are – Ugra Narasimha with Hiranyakashyapa on his lap tearing open Hiranyakashyapa’s gut, Laxmi-Narayana, Shiva Tandava, Brahma-Saraswati, Natya Saraswati, Kalingamardana, Arjuna at Draupadi Swayamvara shooting the arrow, Gajasura Samhara, Nagini, Yakshi, Vamana and Bali Chakravarthi, Trivikrama, Varaha-Bhudevi, Garuda carrying Vishni and Laxmi, Veerabhadra, Shanmukha, Ganesha, Ravana, Mahishasuramardini and the list goes on.

The topmost section of the temple comprises of shikharas or towers. There might have been 3 shikharas one on top of each Garbha griha but only the one over Mallikarjuna shrine remains intact. This shikhara also has the Hoysala emblem of Sala fighting a tiger. The shikhara also has several layers of intricate carvings but difficult to appreciate them very well from the ground.

Basaralu Mallikarjuna Temple is a tri-koota temple consisting of three Garbha Grihas or the inner sanctums opening into a common navaranga mantapa or the common hall. This common hall is rectangular in shape and has a square opening towards the sky. This opening is covered at the top with modern construction material to prevent rainwater and other dirt from pouring down while it lets the light in. However, one can assume that a Navagraha mandala may have existed there at one point of time which may have been lost due to deterioration over time.

The first Garbha griha on the left consists of Lord Vishnu worshipped in the form of Suryanarayana. The door jamb on this sanctum also depicts that it is a shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The deity inside the temple contains of a black stone statue of Suryanarayana in standing posture. The statue is about 5 feet tall including the Garuda-peetha on which the statue is standing.

The second Garbha griha or inner sanctum is dedicated to Lord Shiva worshipped here in the form of a Shivalinga placed on a yoni-pedestal. The door jamb has a statue of Lord Shiva and Parvathi carved in a seated posture. There is a small statue of Nandi – the bull in seated position right outside the door of this Garbha griha.

The third Garbha Griha on the right consists of the divine snake couple – Naga-Nagini. The name Nagini should not be confused with Lord Voldemort’s horcrux from the Harry Potter series, Nagini among Hindus is the name of a female snake Goddess. The statue of Naga and Nagini are carved out of a single stone and their snake bodies are intertwined in coils. Hindus believe that worshipping snakes brings prosperity, fertility and heals skin ailments. Snake worship has been part of the Hindu culture since time immemorial.

Outside the Garbha grihas, we also get to see standalone statues of Lord Ganesha, Goddess Durga in Mahishasuramardini form and Goddess Gayatri. The navaranga consists of many lotuses shaped Bhuvaneshwaris or reliefs on the ceiling. These lotuses are in different levels of blooming from a bud shape to a fully bloomed flower with spread-out petals – all carved in stones. The mantapa is supported by black stone pillars that are cylindrical in shape, with concentric circles running along the height of the pillars. The surface of these pillars is very smooth, and the pillars are square at the base. Hoysala architects had mastered, among many things, the lathe technology to produce cylindrical stone pillars with such precision.

There are also star-sectional shaped pillars that can be seen – another geometric marvel often seen in the interiors of Hoysala temples.

The navaranga mantapa is connected to an antechamber or a sukhanasi that is rectangular in shape. This antechamber that faces the shrine of Mallikarjuna has a large statue of Nandi in the usual seated position. This Nandi is much bigger in comparison to the one directly outside the Mallikarjuna sanctum and is also more ornately carved. Among the three shrines, Mallikarjuna shrine’s door faces east direction, Suryanarayana’s door is north-facing and Naga-Nagini shrine’s door is south-facing.

There are stone screen curtains on this vestibule’s northern and southern walls to let air and light in. There are two entrance doors to the shrine at norther and southern faces of the sukhanasi.

Basaralu By Road: Basaralu is situated in Mandya district, Mandya Taluk and about 25km from Mandya town on the Mandya-Nagamangala road. Basaralu is about 125km from Bangalore ( Bangalore to Basaralu Map) and about 68km from Mysuru ( Mysuru to Basaralu Map). The road is good in condition and driving down would be enjoyable. For people traveling from Mysuru or South Bengaluru, connecting via Mandya is suitable. For people traveling from northern (Hebbal), easter (Marathalli) and north-western (Yeshwanthpur) parts of Bengaluru, a more convenient route would be via Nelamangala-Hassan highway via Bellur Cross and Nagamangala.

For people going by bus, there are regular buses that ply from both Mandya and Nagamangala.

Basaralu By Train: Basaralu does not have direct train connectivity. Mandya on the south (25km) and Adichunchanagiri halt on the north (34km) may be convenient points to go by train. You will have to go to Basaralu by road from these train stations.

The temple is a protected monument of national interest under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The temple has guards, appointment by ASI who look after the monument, carry out gardening and take care of the cleanliness. 

The temple is operational, and a priest conducts the pooja ceremony every morning. There are special occasions like Shivaratri, Dasara and other big festivals when special pooja is carried out and the villagers gather in larger numbers. On all other days, the temple hardly has visitors. And that means you are likely to appreciate the beauty and get stunning photos of the sculptures and monuments from up close without any interruptions.

The temple is open from 9AM to 5PM for visitors. There is no entry ticket for the temple. Photography of the temple exterior is permitted but to take photographs inside the temple, special permission is required from ASI office in Bangalore or Srirangapattana according to the guard posted on site.

The temple does not have any operational toilets in the vicinity. Cleaner toilets may be available in the petrol stations along the way or at restaurants in Mandya or Nagamangala towns.

There are a few small-time eateries in Basaralu. Apart from that, there are no notable restaurants. You can however find restaurants that serve variety cuisines in Mandya, Nagamangala and Bellur Cross.

The temple is very close to the main road. To get into the temple from the road, a visitor will have to descend about 6 steps. To get into the temple, you would climb about 5 steps first to get on to the platform and another 3 steps to get inside the temple.

The periphery of the temple would be about 200 steps and the platform is largely flat except at the edges where some stone slabs are damaged. There is no wheelchair access; You are required to remove your footwear at the temple entrance and enter barefoot (socks are permitted to be worn but could get dirty in the mud).

There are no souvenir shops in Basaralu.