Jain Temples at Hangal Fort
Hangal is a small town south of Hubli in modern Karnataka which was under Chalukya rule in the 12th century and subsequently under Hoysala rule in the next century. The town has a number of Hindu temples, most famously the Tarakesvara temple but there are also a few Jain temples at Hangal which were probably built just after AD 1150.
The Jain temple (on the left) consists of a sanctuary and an open hall with closed back which have both lost their superstructure. The shrine now incorporates a tower of bricks with a hemispherical crowning. The temple is built on a stepped plan and its walls are decorated with thin pilasters. The sculptural decoration of the top of the wall is elaborate and consists of flowers, gods, torana and garlands. The open hall has lathe-turned pillars.
The photograph of a small ruined Jain temple in the Fort at Hangal (on the right; source: ) was taken by Henry Cousens in the 1880s. The ruins of the temple in this view consist of an open hall with four bell shaped lathe-turned pillars which has lost its roof and the sanctuary.
Hangal Jain Temples on old Photographs:
Photograph of the façade of the Jain temple in the Fort at Hangal, showing mouldings and sculptural details, taken by Henry Cousens in the 1880s. The Jain temple at Hangal consists of a sanctuary and an open hall closed in the back which have both lost their superstructure. The shrine now incorporates a tower of bricks with a hemispherical crowning. The temple is built on a stepped plan and its walls have thin pilasters but not in the characteristic pattern of projections and recesses of the Dravida or Southern architecture. The sculptural decoration is elaborate and consists of flowers, gods, torana and garlands. The temple was probably built after AD 1150 (Source: British Library).
Photograph of the Jain temple in the fort at Hangal, taken by Henry Cousens in the 1880s. This Jain temple at Hangal was probably built after AD 1150. It consists of a sanctuary and an open hall with closed back which have both lost their superstructure. The shrine now incorporates a tower of bricks with a hemispherical crowning. The temple is built on a stepped plan and its walls are decorated with thin pilasters. The sculptural decoration of the top of the wall is elaborate and consists of flowers, gods, torana and garlands. The open hall has lathe-turned pillars (Source: British Library).
Photograph of the Jain temple in the Fort at Hangal, taken by Henry Cousens in the 1880s (Source: British Library).