Walk into any Indian temple and you will see a plethora of sculptures dedicated to elephants, tigers , horses and even the mythological yali .The picture above is one that I shot at Darasuram in Tamil Nadu, a 12th century temple built by the Cholas. 
The second is a picture of young Sala who is shown killing a tiger on the ” gopura” of the temple at Doddagaddavalli, a Hoysala temple. There is a story behind this sculpture which led to the dynasty being found in the 11th century. The story takes one to Angadi, the birthplace of the Hoysala Dynasty , a small village tucked away inside a coffee estate .Click here to read my story of Angadi in CLAY.
For more critters around the world, click here
Great shots, thanks for sharing this. I have never visited this part of the world.
nice 🙂
I love sculptures. But in Belgium they are not so easy to find …
Greetings !
Enjoyed this post…
Wonderful, impressive stories behind the sculptures of a world I should like to know more about! Thanks for sharing and your visit to my duckie world! Have a wonderful Christmas or what ever holiday you will celebrate!
Lakshmi: What neat stoic critters you captured.
Oh!!! U r a travel freak!!! Nice nice..
P.S: Dropped in from Anu’s..
Interesting photos. Would love to read more about the stories that these sculptures tell.
Those were interesting snippets!Nice pics,as usual.
Lakshmi, what a lovely post. As a former backpacker ( south of France mostly) I can relate to the desire to capture the colors and images of one’s experience. Your images are what attracted me to follow your blog. Thanks for visiting mine btw. I’ll be back here often.
What I so like about your blog is the combination of beautiful photos of wonderful places and small description that inspire me to find out more. My list of things to see grows each time. Thank you so much.
What neat a critter!
beautiful!
You are true….Indian temples are full of sculptures of elephants, tigers , horses…and we should proud of our artists…The 1st photo was good.
Hi Lakshmi, I have not yet been able to visit India but I’m sure I will someday take a birding trip there. There are many beautiful birds in your country that I must see.
I do love sculpture and architecture also. There is a rich heritage of both in India I would also love to see.
Thank you for showing us a small piece of your country. I love your header graphic also. Beautiful sunset or sunrise over the water.
Nice post. You have the knack of fishing out the hidden jewels in India.
Amazing
nice photos.
The amount of details in ancient temples are truely remarkable. They say so much on the life then and imagination the artist had.
The first sculpture has a face cut of elephant and lion. Good idea to post in critters 🙂
I love ornate stone on buildings and in the environment.
Lovely post Lakshmi, looks like my kind of place!
What a very wonderful and informative post. Thank you for this.
Lakshmi, thank you for this post. I’d like sometime to know about the mythological yali. Have you got any of its picture?
Another beautiful place. It is quite amazing how long these structures have survived.
hi lakshmi
Lovely – chola yaazhi’s are a subject by themselves. the ones in pullamangai are great.
Interestingly the pillar that you have features from darasuram was sketched by artist silpi. will post shortly
rgds
vj
Thank you for sharing this interesting post!
Very beautiful and nice. Interesting blog you have. I like it a lot!
Another very interesting post. Thanks for your visit. Best wishes to you.
Very Nice Blog…
Have become a avid reader now…
Please keep it active
Swami!
swamisblog.blogspot.com
Every little thing has a story to share…nice pics
Dear Lakshmi,
Thanks for your visit to my blog…
Most of the temples mentioned in my blog are ancient only 🙂
It is very difficult to imagine that Hi-Tech city like Bangalore has so many ancient temples.
Regards,
Swami
Swamisblog.blogspot.com
This time I saw a scorpion sculpted in the ruins of Hampi.
Dirk – I do hope u will sometime 🙂
Vishesh -Thanks
Mamapippa – We have several sculptures in india and Im glad you like them 🙂
June,Fishing eye,Deepak Sameera,Ice Pony Goddess, Harekrishnaji,Iamyuva, Jeevan – Thanks .Glad you liked them
Reader Wil – Im glad you enjoyed a bit about this world..Thanks for your wishes..we celebrate the festive season too
Rajesh – Welcome to backpacker
Vagabond – will share sometime 🙂
Mary – Great to know u are a backpacker as well..Its great to share little snippets like this..hope to see you soon
Fida – I try to do my little bit by adding interesting aspects …glad u liked them
Humanobserver -thanks and we know very little of them 🙁
Larry – Thanks..India is diverse and beautiful. Its got a heady mix of both nature and heritage. I hope you do get to visit india in 2009. Glad you liked my little window to my country
Vamsee – Thanks..amazing how much we learn from them
Ajeya – Yes, Its not just mythology, but a lot is depicted on social life as well
Grammy, Misty dawn,Apple Debbie – Glad you liked this interpretation. Thanks
Mridula – I didnt know heritage lures you as well..glad you liked it
Celine – the picture above is a yali …its a mythological animal and appears in various combinations..will share more in detail later
Wendy – quite a few down south have survived…but they need to be restored
Vijay – As always, your comments enrich the post..thanks
Philip – Appreciate it..glad you liked it
“Sanibeltoots” – Thanks for dropping in
Swami – Thanks…will be dropping there sometime
Ceedy – So true and each one is fascinating
Indrani – Yes…and Ive seen lizards as well 🙂