Editing Hoysala architecture (section)

==Research==
[[Image:Chikkamagalur Amruthapura kirthimukha retouched.jpg|left|thumb|upright|''[[Kirtimukha]]'' decoration (demon faces) on tower at [[Amrutesvara Temple, Amruthapura]]]]
[[File:Ornate lintel and door jamb relief at entrance to inner mantapa in the Harihareshwara temple at Harihar.JPG|thumb|upright|right|Ornate lintel and door jamb relief at entrance to inner mantapa in the [[Harihareshwara Temple]] at Harihar]]

According to Settar, surveys in modern times have indicated that 1000–1500 structures were built by the Hoysalas, of which about a hundred temples have survived to date.<ref name="vaishnava" /><ref name="records">1,500 temples in 958 centres were built, according to historical records, between 1000 and 1346 CE. {{Cite web |title=Hoysala Heritage |url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2008/stories/20030425000206700.htm|author=Settar S |publisher=Frontline, From the publishers of the Hindu |work=Frontline, Volume 20 – Issue 08, April 12–25, 2003 |access-date=13 November 2006}}</ref> The Hoysala style is an offshoot of the [[Western Chalukya architecture|Western Chalukya style]], which was popular in the 10th and 11th centuries.<ref name="horizontal" /> It is distinctively [[Dravidian architecture|Dravidian]], and according to Brown, owing to its features, Hoysala architecture qualifies as an independent style.<ref name="independent">According to Percy Brown, Hoysala architecture and sculpture have been called a "phenomenal effort of human concentration, skill, and religious consciousness" ([[Percy Brown (scholar)|Percy Brown]] in Kamath 2001, p. 134)</ref> While the Hoysalas introduced innovative features into their architecture, they also borrowed features from earlier builders of ''Karnata'' like the [[Kadamba Dynasty|Kadambas]], [[Western Chalukyas]]. These features included the use of chloritic schist or [[soapstone]] as a basic building material.<ref name="schist">Kamath (2001) p. 136</ref><ref name="schist1">{{Cite web |title=Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 1996 |url=http://www.indoarch.org/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803003020/http://www.indoarch.org/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=3 August 2012 |author=Kamiya Takeo |publisher=Gerard da Cunha |work=Architecture Autonomous, Bardez, Goa, India |access-date=13 November 2006}} – The [[Western Chalukya]] carvings were done in greenschist (soapstone), a technique adopted by the Hoysalas</ref>

Other features were the stepped style of ''vimana'' tower called the ''Kadamba shikhara'', which was inherited from the [[Kadamba Dynasty|Kadambas]].<ref name="kadambashikara">The most prominent feature of [[Kadamba Dynasty|Kadamba]] architecture is their ''[[Sikhara|shikhara]]'', called "Kadamba shikhara". The ''shikhara'' is pyramid-shaped and rises in steps without any decoration and has a ''stupika'' or ''kalasha'' on the top (Kamath 2001, p. 38)</ref> Hoysala sculptors made use of the effect of light and shade on carved walls, which poses a challenge for photography of the temples.<ref name="ramayana1"/> The artistry of the Hoysalas in stone has been compared to the finesse of an ivory worker or a goldsmith. The abundance of jewellery worn by the sculpted figures and the variety of hairstyles and headdresses depicted give a fair idea of the lifestyles of the Hoysala times.<ref name="capital">Sastri (1955), p. 429</ref>