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Image Details : Photograph with a close view of a portion of the façade of the Hoysaleshwara Temple at Halebid in Karnataka, taken by William Henry Pigou in c. 1855, from 'Architecture in Dharwar and Mysore'. Halebid (ancient Dwarasamudra), a small town in the Hassan district, was once the capital of the Hoysala dynasty of the southern Deccan which flourished from the 12th to the 14th century. Invasions by armies of the Delhi Sultanate led to its decline by the mid-14th century. The Hoysalas were prolific temple builders and the site is renowned for the remnants of architecture and sculpture fashioned out of the chloritic schist in the region. The most famous monument here is the Hoysaleshwara temple dedicated to Shiva as Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer, which was built for Ketamalla, an official of Vishnuvardhana (ruled c. 1108-42). It is an exemplar of the lavish Hoysala style and is encrusted with continuous bands of sculpture, unsurpassed in its detail and vibrancy. The temple, placed on a high platform, is twin-shrined or dvikuta, with each linked shrine preceded by a Nandi pavilion. Each of the twin temples has a sanctuary (shrine proper or vimana) and an attached pillared mandapa or hall. This is a close view of a portion of the sculptures, amongst which are Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna playing the flute, and dancing apsaras or celestial nymphs. Source : British Library

Well it is a good Photograph, i visit regularly to these monuments.There are many many interesting panels are there since it is taken in 1855 it have a great value.

I went there. I took pictures. I took a photo of that one panel, and could recognize it right away. And precisely what interested me were all the music instruments we could see in those little carvings. Very amazing precision, and a lot of life from that stone! It was a highlight in my staying in Karnataka this year.