The Hoysala rulers in southwestern India were…

The Hoysala rulers in southwestern India were originally hill people of Malnad Karnataka, an elevated region in the Western Ghats range.

Taking advantage of the internecine warfare between the then ruling Western Chalukyas and Kalachuri kingdoms in the twelfth century, they had annexed areas of present day Karnataka and the fertile areas north of the Kaveri River delta in present day Tamil Nadu.

Subordinate to the Western Chalukyas until 1187, when Veera Ballala II, the greatest monarch of the Hoysala Empire, gained independence, the Hoysalas now govern most of present-day Karnataka, parts of Tamil Nadu and parts of western Andhra Pradesh in Deccan India.

Over a hundred surviving temples are scattered across Karnataka, including the well known Chennakesava Temple at Belur and …