About

Krishnadevaraya the most celebrated king of the Vijayanagar dynasty built this temple in 1513 A.D. to commemorate his victory over Prataparudra Gajapati, the ruler of Orissa. The main idol installed in the temple was the figure of Balakrishna (Lord Krishna as an infant). This idol is now displayed in the state museum at Chennai. A huge slab installed inside the courtyard of the temple states the story of this temple and the conquest of Ulkala. This temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna, one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. During the battle, he seized an image of child Krishna and brought it to Vijayanagara. The inner sides of the entrance exhibit beautifully sculptured Apsaras standing on mythical animals and holding scrolls filled with panels showing the ten incarnations of the lord. An inscription describing the conquest and the consecration of this temple is found on a slab in front of this temple. Like all major temple complexes, Krishnapura, a suburb, is developed around this temple. This is one of the few temples where the epic stories carved on the walls of the tower. This is fairly an intact specimen of a Vijayanagara era temple.

Krishna Temple is built of granite and consists of a garbhagriha, an antarala, an ardhamandapa, a sabhamandapa and a mahamandapa. All these are enclosed within a high prakara wall with a mahadvara, which has a gopura built of brick and mortar. The gopura is in ruins but it contains some good stucco figures associated with Krishna. The square garbhagriha is bare now, as the original image of Krishna has been removed. It is made out of greenish black granite showing Krishna as a child seated on a pedestal. The front entrance is well decorated with Vaishnava dvarapalas on either side and Gajalakshmi on the lintel. The sabhamandapa has four central pillars with relief sculptures of Garuda, Hanuman, Krishna as Kalingamardana, etc.

The mukhamandapa is an graceful structure with 32 pillars with entrances at north, south, and east. These tall and lean pillars have fine sculptures of Vaishnava deities. There is a garuda mandapa of Dravidian type and a dipastambha (lamp pillar) in its front. At the four corners of this temple once stood small shrines intended for subsidiary Gods. However, they are derelict now. The composite pillars and pillars with horses and yalis add exquisiteness to the temple.

Opposite the temple is a huge clearing, lining which are covered pathways. Said to be one of the ancient bazaars, where traders from across the country sold their wares, it is amazing to see how well planned it was, and how much of it survives after centuries! Further on, there are open spaces with remnants of stone walls, which might have been the residences of the traders, and a water tank, which supplied water to the bazaar, its residents and visitors. There is even a water channel, bringing water from the aqueduct that brought water from the river to the city! The Krishna temple and its bazaar are a lasting reminder that wars might bring victory, but it is administration and planning which survive, and bring glory! The Vijayanagar rulers certainly knew this, given the importance they gave to administration! 

Timings