Vimana (architectural feature)Vimana is the structure over the garbhagriha or inner sanctum in the Hindu temples of South India and Odisha in East India. In typical temples of Odisha using the Kalinga style of architecture, the vimana is the tallest structure of the temple, as it is in the shikhara towers of temples in West and North India. By contrast, in large South Indian temples, it is typically smaller than the great gatehouses or gopuram, which are the most immediately striking architectural elements in a temple complex.
Hindu temple architectureHindu temple architecture as the main form of Hindu architecture has many varieties of style, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the garbha griha or womb-chamber, where the primary Murti or the image of a deity is housed in a simple bare cell. For rituals and prayers, this chamber frequently has an open space that can be moved in a clockwise direction. There are frequently additional buildings and structures in the vicinity of this chamber, with the largest ones covering several acres.
Hoysala EmpireThe Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved to Halebidu. The Hoysala rulers were originally from Malenadu, an elevated region in the Western Ghats. In the 12th century, taking advantage of the internecine warfare between the Western Chalukya Empire and Kalachuris of Kalyani, the Hoysalas annexed areas of present-day Karnataka and the fertile areas north of the Kaveri delta in present-day Tamil Nadu.
Kannada people_Kannadiga The Kannadigas or Kannaḍigaru (ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು), often referred to as Kannada people, are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group who natively speak Kannada and trace their ancestry to the South Indian state of Karnataka in India and its surrounding regions. The Kannada language belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. Kannada stands among 30 of the most widely spoken languages of the world as of 2001. Evidence for human habitation in Karnataka exists from at least the 2nd millennium BCE, and the region is said to have had contact with the Indus Valley civilization.
AiholeAihole (), also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in Karnataka, India that dates from the sixth century through the twelfth century CE. Most of the surviving monuments at the site date from the 7th to 10th centuries. Located around an eponymous small village surrounded by farmlands and sandstone hills, Aihole is a major archaeological site featuring over one hundred and twenty stone and cave temples spread along the Malaprabha river valley, in Bagalakote district.
Vijayanagara EmpireThe Vijayanagara Empire (also called the Karnata Kingdom) was a medieval Indian empire that covered much of the region of South India, controlling the lands of the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, and some parts of Telangana and Maharashtra. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, members of a pastoralist cowherd community that claimed Yadava lineage.
