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The Hoysala Temples of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura in Karnataka have been finalized as India’s nomination for consideration as World Heritage for the year 2022-2023. 

Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala: 

• The ‘Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala’ have been on UNESCO’s Tentative List since 2014.
• The sacred ensembles of the Hoysalas were built in the 12th-13th centuries and represented here by the three components of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura.
• The Hoysala temples have a basic Dravidian morphology.
• The Hoysala architecture made selections of features from other temple typologies which were modified and complemented with their own particular innovations.

Hoysalesvara Temple, Halebidu:

• Halebeedu (formerly known as Dwarasamudra) was the ancient capital of the Hoysalas just 17 km away from Belur. 
• In the 14th century, the armies of Alauddin Khilji and Muhammad Tughlak defeated the Hoysalas and raided their empire. Halebeedu means “old house/old ruins“. 

Keshava Temple, Somanathapura:

• The Keshava temple at Somanathapura is another magnificent Hoysala monument, perhaps the last. 
• This is a beautiful Trikuta Temple dedicated to Lord Krishna in three forms – Janardhana, Keshava and Venugopala.
• The Keshava Temple at Somanathapura was constructed by a commander of the Hoysala Army, Somanatha.