Historic Sites of India and Southeast Asia

The Prasanna Somesvara Temple is a Shiva temple in Udiyavara near Udupi, Karnataka. Built before 725 CE and attributed to the Alupa dynasty, it is another early apsidal Hindu temple.  The temple is notable for being from one of the oldest surviving Shaiva centers of coastal Karnataka that is mentioned in several inscriptions, all dated between 725 and 770 CE. Its apsidal shape (4:3 ratio) when compared to other early apsidal Hindu found along Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra coastline suggest that apsidal architecture were among the popular early designs in peninsular India.  No traces of Jain or Buddhist art or inscriptions have been found near this temple complex. The Prasanna Somesvara temple has a base of granite that is topped with laterite blocks. It blends Karnata Dravida elements with Tulu Nadu art. The  temple includes a detached Namaskara mandapa of a design typically found in early Kerala. It has a Torana (gateway) and a Nandi mandapa with Rashtrakuta influenc...