Keshava Temple, Somanathapura

The last great Hoysala temple, built in 1268 under Narasimha III, Somanathapura represents the style at its structural maturity: a trikuta plan with three towered sanctums for different forms of Vishnu, set on an elevated star-shaped platform ringed by a cloistered courtyard. Its sculptural finish is often considered the sharpest of the three great Hoysala sites, with crisply undercut friezes and ceiling rosettes surviving in near-pristine condition despite the loss of the central tower's finial. Somanathapura was inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas listing in 2023, alongside Belur and Halebidu. Quieter than its sister sites, it rewards visitors with unhurried close study of the carving.