BALAKRISHNA TEMPLE
Krishnadevaraya built this temple in 1513 A.D. to commemorate his victory over
Prataparudra Gajapati, the ruler of Orissa. During the battle he seized an image
of child Krishna and brought it to Vijayanagara as war trophy. He then built this
temple to consecrate the image. An inscription describing the conquest and the
consecration of this temple on 16 February 1515 by Krishnadevaraya is found on
a slab in front of this temple. Built in the center of a courtyard, the temple
possesses a sanctum, an antechamber, an ardha mantapa, a circumambulatory passage,
a pillared hall with three entrances and an open pillared mantapa, in addition
to a number of other shrines for the attendant deities. The sanctum is at present
empty. The image of Balakrishna showing him as a child holding butter in the right
hand is now resting in the Government Museum at Madras.
The inner sides of the entrance exhibit beautifully sculptured Apsaras standing
on mythical animals and holding scrolls filled with panels showing the ten incarnations
of the lord. Like all major temple complexes, Krishnapura, a suburb, is developed
around this temple. The bazaar in front is now a lush paddy field.
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