Kolar

Kolar's temples preserve the town's place in the political and religious landscape of southern Karnataka before the great modern mining ventures. Someshwara, dedicated to Shiva, acquired its elaborate form under Vijayanagara patronage in the fourteenth century. Nearby Kolaramma, devoted to the goddess, also received renovations under Vijayanagara rulers in the fifteenth century, building upon an older sacred centre.

At Someshwara, a tall brick-and-stucco gateway led into a complex of carved stone halls and shrines. Granite pillars in the marriage hall and figures of riders on mythical yali creatures displayed the work of sculptors supported by temple patronage. A stepped tank provided another setting for ritual use. Fifteenth-century inscriptions in the sacrificial hall belong to the same long history of maintenance and worship. These buildings gave Kolar an enduring religious centre through changing dynasties, joining older foundations to the architectural ambitions of the Vijayanagara age.