Vidyasankara Temple

Vidyasankara Temple in Sringeri is situated on the banks of the Bhadra River. Enveloped by the Western Ghats, the temple is located at a distance of 92 km to the south-west of the town of Chikmagalur. One of the highlighting features of the shrine is Mahadwara (entrance) of the temple.

The holy shrine is one of the Pancha Kshetras, positioned on the banks of Bhadra River. Along with the temple, there is also a sacred pond, known as Pancha Theerthas, in the premises. Built in Hoysala style, the temple has sculptures of various Hindu mythological characters.

Highlighting feature of the shrine is its 12 zodiac pillars, known as Rashistambhas. The pillars are carved with symbols of the 12 divisions of the zodiac like face of a lion. Besides, the positioning of the zodiac symbols is associated with astronomical concepts and movement of the sun. Pillars are positioned specific to the movement of sun that calculates time zone accordingly.