Chandramouleshwara Temple – Unkal

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Chandramouleshwara Temple is on the banks of the Unkal lake beside the Nrupatunga Hills is a 900-year-old temple of Chandramouleshwara. Lord Shiva is the deity of the temple. The temple has marvelous sculptures that attract any art lover. The temple houses two big Shivalingas and two Nandi statues at the entrance of the temple. Chalukyas built this temple in the 11th and 12th centuries. This temple doesn’t have a gopura.

Once Chalukyans wanted to boast their architectural splendidness and showcase their power and wealth to their enemies. The tale says that the temple was built overnight by a group of anonymous artisans and sculptors. Since the temple was constructed in a night, and as the artisans couldn’t finish the whole work in one night, the temple structure is incomplete.

The temple has unfinished architecture, yet the most marvelous and spectacular architecture by the Chalukyas. The unfinished temple has many quarters that have left halfway done yet a visual delight.

The temple is constructed in the Chalukyan era and is clearly inscribed in stones that belong to the 12th century in the Unkal village. The temple is designed in black granites. It has alluring sculptures and appealing carving that attracts many art lovers to the temple.

It has two shiva lingas out of that one of them is the ‘Chaturmugha Linga’ which is the four-faced Shiva linga, one of the features that make the temple stand out among the various Lord Shiva temples in the state.

Another spectacular feature of the temple architecture is the dancing Lord Ganesh and the Jaladhara images on the walls of the temple. The wall height is around 20-25 feet out of which half of the temple is made of red stones while the other half is made of greenstone, giving the temple an overall remarkable look. The temple is located in a raised place. The chancel of the temple contains four-faced Shiva linga. Unlike any other Lord Shiva temple, the temple has four doors in all the possible directions and a total of 12 doors.

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The temple is filled with finished and unfinished artistic carvings which are indeed exemplary works of art. The walls and the pillars adorn the designs of the Chalukyan architecture. The designs and the intricate carvings are attention seekers.