Historical Background

Historically also, the temple is renowned and the mysore Archacological Department has declared,after researches, that this is one of the most ancient temples decided to Sri Rama in India. Dr.R.G. Bhandarkar has opined that worship of Sri Rama started in the 11th century A.D. But recent investigations have confirmed that worship of Sri Rama was in vogue even earlier than this in Karnataka and that temples of Sri Rama were built quite early there. It has also been stated that this temple at Hiremagalur is the oldest of the Sri Rama Temples.

The date of this temple is belived to be about 879 A.D. The Garbhagriha and Sukanasi structures are in the Hoysala style, while the remaining portions are subsequent additions in the Dravidan style. In the prakara are enshrined vedantacharya, Ramanujacharya, Alars, a lovely figure of Yoga Narasimha and an equally beautiful and interesting Madhaa. This 4ft. high Madhava has a curious feature-the upper left hand hold a conchshell, with the tip in the hand, the right hand holds the ‘Chakra’ in an erect posture, unlike the usual horizontal position. This is supposed to signify the ‘Srishti Karma’ a nearby holy place. On the outer walls of the Garbhagriha also ther are a number (about 30) of carvings, mainly Sri vishnu and His various forms, Lakshmi, Garuda and Hanuman,Ganapathi, etc.