Mallikarjuna's Doll House
When you plan , it doesn’t happen . When you don’t plan , it happens ! It is one of those funny twists in life. ( The Trikuta temple that looks like Ekakuta ) BASARALU is barely 25 Kms from Mandya , yet it took all these years to visit it – and that , only accidentally , because it was on the route taken for the return journey from another destination . What a happy accident ! As Hoysala temples go , this one is a doll-house . Such a compact little temple , almost invisible among the surrounding dreary landscape ! Though a small temple , it is endowed with an outer entrance pavilion which is ornamented with well carved , though unmatched, pillars . The ceiling here shows the ashtadikpala grid arranged around a central four armed Shiva. Kings built ambitious , extravagant , immense complexes like the Hoysaleshwara of Halebid . Chieftains , lacking means, did not shy away from temple building dreams either. They built modest to mini sized gems . Like th