Shoes outside Channakeshava Temple in Karnataka.

Both local and foreign tourists look around Chennakesava temple in Karnataka. Sandals, shoes are seen kept outside the temple. We also see a South Indian lady tries to sell dumru, a small two-headed drum to foreign tourist outside the temple.

Damru was first created by Shiva to produce spiritual sounds by which this whole universe has been created and regulated.

Beluru is a Town Municipal Council and taluka in Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. The town is renowned for its Chennakesava temple, one of the finest examples of Hoysala workmanship.

Belur was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. With Halebidu which is only 16 km away, this is one of the major tourist destinations in Karnataka. Belur is located in Hassan district. According to inscriptions discovered here, it was also referred to as Velapuri.

The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakeshava temple complex which contains the Chennakesava Temple (dedicated to Chennakeshava, meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple built by Shantaladevi, queen of king Vishnuvardhana.

The first moulding were the temple wall meets the jagati (platform) around the temple is made up entirely of a frieze of elephants
There are two more shrines here that are still in use by devotees and there is a Pushkarni or stepped well to the right side of the main entrance. The Dravida style rayagopuram at the entrance which was a later addition by the Vijayanagar kings, who considered this deity as one of their Kuladevata or family god.

The temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture. It was built by king Vishnuvardhana in commemoration of his victory over the Cholas at Talakad in 1117 CE. Legend has it that it took 103 years to complete and Vishnuvardhana's grandson Veera Ballala II completed the task. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank.