Siddhesvara Temple, Haveri

According to Wikipedia, inscriptions in Haveri say the town was once called Nalapuri and was one of the oldest agraharas (settlements of learning) in present-day Karnataka. A record of 1067 CE in the town notes a grant to the settlement, and inscriptional evidence suggests the temple was first consecrated in the late 11th century.

Two old Kannada grant records are associated directly with the temple: one dated 1087 CE on a beam inside, and a stone inscription (shilashasana) dated 1108 CE standing outside. Thirteenth-century Old Kannada inscriptions of the Seuna Yadava kingdom are also carved on the bases of pillars, and a Chalukya-period hero stone stands at the temple, according to Wikipedia.

The 1298 CE grant in South Indian Inscriptions was made by a tax official named Madayya on the orders of Saluveya Acharasa, showing that the temple continued to receive royal and local support more than two centuries after its consecration.

Architecture and sacred features

Wikipedia describes the temple as built of soapstone and facing west, which is unusual, since most Chalukyan temples face east. Its plan is a staggered square with a Dravida-style superstructure (shikhara): a standard 11th-century Chalukyan plan with 12th-century additions such as miniature decorative towers on pilasters. The basement has sunk a few feet over time, so visitors now step down into the open hall (mantapa).

The walls carry miniature towers on pilasters and kirtimukha (face of glory) motifs. Wikipedia compares the temple with nearby Chalukyan temples at Chavudayyadanapura (Mukteshvara), Haralahalli (Someshwara) and Niralgi (Siddharameshvara). Outside the temple is a step well whose wall is carved with the saptamatrikas, and loose sculptures include Surya under a seven-hooded serpent and Durga as Mahishasuramardini.