The temple was built on the banks of a large man-made lake, and sponsored by King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire.

[3][4] During the early 14th century, Halebidu was twice sacked and plundered by the Muslim armies of the Delhi Sultanate from northern India,[5][6][7] and the temple and the capital fell into a state of ruin and neglect.

[9] Halebidu has no nearby airport, and is about 210 kilometres (130 mi) west of Bengaluru (IATA Code: BLR), about 4 hours drive accessible with a four lane NH75 highway through Hassan.

[16] Halebidu was originally called Dorasamudra in its inscriptions, possibly derived from Dvarasamudra (Sanskrit words "Dvara" (gateway, door) and Samudra (ocean, sea, large water body)).

It also notes that the king made grant of lands to support the construction, the operation and the maintenance of the Shiva temple in Saka 1043, or 1121 CE.

The inscriptions suggest that the capital consisted of numerous other temples, both of Hinduism and Jainism traditions, along with stepwells, ponds and mantapas (mandapas, public halls) in the vicinity of the large Dorasamudhra lake.

[20] The Hoysala kingdom, states James C. Harle, came to an end in mid 14th century, when King Ballala III was killed in a war with the Muslim army of Madurai Sultanate.

Ruin panels from other temples were reused here to cover the Nandi mandapa, parts of friezes used to repair the plinth.

Historians such as Adam Hardy state that the Hoysalesware temple shows evidence of other shrines but these are now missing, lost to history.

The platform is 15 feet wide around the outer walls of the temple, meant for the visitor to walk on and view the artwork clockwise while completing the circumambulation of the sanctums.

Similar the row of decorated miniature roofs, the eastern perimeter walls and other shrines with the main temple are all gone.

[33] The soapstone is soft when quarried and easier to carve into intricate shapes, but hardens over time when exposed to air.

[35][36][37] According to Shadakshari Settar, the artwork shows details as "no two lions are alike in the entire span that covers more than a furlong (200 metres)", the artists "captured the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and the main episodes of the Bhagavata".

[39][41] Some main displays include (clockwise):[40] In terms of theology from different Hindu traditions, the large images on the outer walls of the west side present the following frequencies (excluding small panels and miniature friezes):[49] The walls on the other side have more large images.

In the era of Hoysala king Narasimha I, the mantapa was closed, doors were added and perforated stone screens placed, according to an inscription found in the temple.

[31][51] Along with the four doors, the later artists added dvarapalas and decorations as follows: Outside the southern doorway, in the park, are large statues, one of Ganesha.

Each sanctum is a square with a darsana dvara (view doorway) on the east, with three inches on the north, west and south.

There is intricate carving above the lintel between the dvarapalas, presenting Shiva with Parvati, along with other devas and devis, as well as two large makaras (mythical syncretic sea creatures).

The sanctum walls are plain, avoiding distraction to the devotee and focussing the attention of the visitor at the spiritual symbol.

The part which can be read states that a general Lakshmana, his wife and followers sacrificed themselves after the death of Ballala II.

The most repeated names of artists found at the Hoysaleswara temple include Manibalaki, Mabala, Ballana, Bochana, Ketana, Bama, Balaki and Revoja.

[49] The guilds can be identified by the organization's icon marked and names inscribed such as Agni-Indra, Indra, Paduca (.west) and Paduvala-badaga (.northwest).

He called it "most gorgeous" and "far surpasses" any South Indian temple he had seen: I was strongly recommended by my old friend, Dr. Neill, of the 1st Madras Light Cavalry, to visit Hallibeede, the site of Dhoor Summooder, the ancient Capital of Bellal Deo, the Sovereign of the Carnatic.

Having seen a great number of the most celebrated Pagodas in the South of India, I can unhesitatingly assert, it far surpasses any, even the most gorgeous of these beautiful structures .

.. Having a Photographic Apparatus with me, I lost no time in committing to waxed paper faithful representations of almost every portion of the sculpture, which literally covers its walls.!

He wrote:[64] If it were possible to illustrate the Halebid temple to such an extent as to render its peculiarities familiar there would be few things more interesting or more instructive than to institute a comparison with the Parthenon at Athens.

According to Kristen Kasdorf, Fergusson's publications on Indian architecture have been influential, served as the introductory foundation to several generations of scholars.

Fergusson erred in many details including his wrong guess that Hoysalas started building the Hoysalesvara temple in 1235, continued working on it over 85 years and stopped construction due to the "Mahomedan invasion" of 1310.

[66] In the 20th-century, Indian authors such as Narasimachar and Srikantaiya published their monographs, calling it as one of the temples that realised the "magnificence of the Hoysala art".