The Trip

Yesterday, our class—along with three professors—visited three legendary temples in Belur, Halebeedu, and Shravanabelagola. The total journey was about 222 kilometers from Bangalore. It was a long ride, but worth every bump in the road.

These places house some of the most impressive historical temples I have ever seen. Every piece of art and architecture is carved from stone—massive boulders and the tiniest pebble-sized fragments alike—each revealing rich, intricate details. Thousands of different Indian inscriptions and motifs cover the surfaces like a stone encyclopedia no one can fully decode.

The monuments are nothing short of wonderful. They depict religious history, mosaic patterns, scenes of music and dance, and stories I could not stop staring at. The stone craftsmanship is so perfectly finished that it almost feels unreal.

I honestly doubt that any mere human mortal could have done this sculpturing. There is no question in my mind: gods and goddesses must have lent their hands. Another legend says that superpower kings erected these structures using resources and skills we have long forgotten. (I bought a travel guidebook to learn more—because my curiosity was bigger than my wallet.)

These temples were built around the 11th and 12th centuries, during the Indian Vedic periods. That is nearly a thousand years ago. And yet, here they stand—defying weather, war, and wear.

Every day, thousands of people visit these temples, both from within India and from every corner of the world. And after yesterday, I completely understand why.

I have taken several packs of photos of these museums and temples. Below are a few of them. After all, a picture speaks more than a thousand words—and my words are already tired from all that walking.

The view from the Shravanabelagola' s temple

Looks like Roman architecture-outside of the Shravanabelagola's temple

There are similar structures around

People moving up to see the inner sanctum

Stone monolithic stands rain or shine

Rock crafted statuettes

Inside the structures...

Statues stand high watching

Belur star-shaped temple

Monkeys like sculptors casted out of huge stones

Where are we to go now?

Rows of magnificent works 

Intricate stone edifices

Roman Colosseum building like

Belur busy temple

Towering temple in Belur

In between, we sneak out to see a dam nearby

This is Halebeedu, a small part of the temple 

There are many Buddha-like statues in all temples

Showing different motifs

Furious Lord

Depicting wars

I am the most handsome of all. Ha...ha...ha!!!

Singing Lords

And dancing Lords

Uh...ah...come on to the last photo

A kaleidoscope of Halebeedu's temple

And the last one isPhew...turn ur computer to see the magnificent colossal statue of Gommateshwar, which stands 58ft 8 inches and considered to be the world's largest monolithic stone statue. There are many stories attributed to this monolithic. You may Google it the easiest i think.

The Temple of Belur, Halebeedu, and Shravanabelagola are difficult to pronounce but very promising places to go. There are so many things to learn from those devoted pilgrimages and tourists, but not for a couple dating, supposedly…haha.