File:11th 12th century Manikeshwara temple, Lakkundi, Karnataka India - 01.jpg

English: The Manikeshvara temple – also referred to as Manikeswar temple, Manikeshwara temple or Manikyeshwara temple – is a Hindu temple of Shaivism tradition in Lakkundi, a small village-like town.

Location and history:

• The temple is located in the northeastern part of Lakkundi, close to National Highway 67. It is about 12 kilometers southeast of Gadag-Betageri twin city, between Hampi and Goa.
• Prior to the 14th-century, Lakkundi was a large, major historic city referred in pre-14th century texts and inscriptions as Lokkigundi – serving as a capital of the Hoysala dynasty. The city was destroyed in the Sultanate raids and wars that began in the 13th-century but rose from the ruins during the Vijayanagara Empire. The end of Vijayanagara Empire brought further social and political chaos to this region. Lakkundi was reduced to a galaxy of abandoned and mutilated ruins, spread over a cluster of small rural villages with a combined population of few thousand residents in the 19th-century.
• This ruined temple was among the dozens in this Lakkundi area that were rediscovered in the 19th-century by British archaeologists and scholars such as Henry Cousens. Much is original, but some parts of this temple have been restored.

Features:

• This is a large temple with a regionally famous Muskin Bhavi – a water tank (pushkarni) from the 12th-century.
• The temple has three shrines (trikuta style), of which is generally open to visitors. These have Shiva linga.
• The temple entrance has a porch with four pillars. This leads to the main mandapa. Each shrine cell has space for Nandi, but all Nandi are missing. Inside walls of the temple and the mandapa are in plain style, with niches provided for statues (missing). The lalita-bimba show Gajalakshmi. A notable feature of all three shrines is the perforated stone windows (called jali in Hindu architecture texts of the 1st millennium). The perforated stone windows are also part of the temple walls to allow light into the temple.
• The outer walls of the temple are also simple and plain. The gavaskas have simple floral motifs (e.g. lotus), while other decorations near the top show dancers and musicians. The temple entrance has a standing person in the namaste posture at the top.
• The temple had a sikhara (spire), with signs of destruction visible.
• Inside is a notable inscription on its pillar, which mentions the temple's attached school, a teacher and arrangements for a bhoga-mandapa (feeding hall for students).