The ornate Chennakeshava temple is a fine representation of the Hoysala architecture; in fact historians suggest that this is one of the last temples to be built with this architecture. The main temple sits in the middle of a high star-shaped platform with three symmetrical sanctums (garbha-griha) for Kesava , Janardhana and Venugopala, all forms of Vishnu.The ceiling inner walls, pillars and out walls depict scenes from Hindu texts such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana. The temple was sanctified by Somanatha Dandanayaka, a general of the Hoysala King Narasimha III in the year in 1258.