Sculptural reliefs surrounding the sanctum : the northern wall
The sanctum where the idol of Chennakeshava is placed is at the back of the temple. The temple walls on the south-west and north-west cover the sanctum. The wall reliefs on the northern to north-western side of the temple are similar to those on the southern and south-western side, but the carvings are not as dense.
The northern wall
The section of the wall shown in the image above is on the northern side of the temple and is oriented in the east-west direction. On the left, it is attached to the Navaranga wall.
As can be seen from the image, there is a circular monolithic pillar with only geometric shapes but not carvings. This precisely-cut pillar is highly ornate, with two female figures carved at the bottom and many layers of star-like patterns stacked on top. It appears as though grooves in the middle are machine-made because of their smoothness and precision.
Of the two female figures, on the left of this pillar is a lady holding a flower in her right hand and the head of a child with the left. The relief also has another child on her left side.
The relief on right side of this monolithic pillar is a replica of the bracket figure where a lady is chasing away a monkey that is pulling at her dress.
This massive pillar is at the junction of the wall that ends at the Navaranga and the wall that begins at the garbhagriha (inner sanctum) on the north side of the exterior wall. There is a similar pillar at the corresponding location on the south side.
The square pillar next to the circular one depicts the story of Varaha avatara, Lord Vishnu’s incarnation as a wild boar. The wall next to it has a carving of Lord Vishnu. Next to this wall is is another square pillar that exposes the front and left sides. The front side relief depicts Lord Vishnu, and the left side depicts Bhairava, who is an incarnation of Shiva.
The north-western wall
The next section to follow in order is a chariot shaped shrine. As can be seen from the image, a statue of Vishnu is placed inside the sanctum of this miniature shrine. Each story of the shrine has a balcony with beautifully decorated balustrades. The water from the shrine drops into a small tank made of stone. We can notice a small statue of Lord Ganesha placed below the second-floor balcony.
There are three rows of beautifully carved friezes below the first floor of the shrine. The bottom row is a of elephants, the middle row has carvings of lions with men fighting them, and the top row has horse riders. It is interesting to note that no two carvings in a row are alike.
The shrine is flanked by two square pillars. The left pillar has a relief of Lord Vishnu and the right pillar depicts Lord Shiva slaying the demon Andhakasura.
Varaha is the third of the ten avatars of Vishnu. Varaha in Sanskrit means wild boar. In this avatar, he assumes the form of a wild boar and rescues Bhudevi (Mother Earth) from an evil demon named Hiranyaksha, who was tormenting her.
As can be seen from the images, Vishnu as Varaha is lifting Bhudevi with his tusks while Hiranyaksha lay dying on the ground killed by Vishnu.
The story of Varaha avatara is a popular theme in both Chalukya and Hoysala temples. Both the Chennakeshava and the Hoysalesvara temples have several reliefs carved on their walls. The Badami caves also have numerous carvings of Varaha avatara.
The final north-western section of the wall surrounding the sanctum
There are six reliefs on this wall, three of which depict Lord Vishnu with the standard iconography. In middle of the wall is the relief depicting Manmatha and his consort Rathi. Manmatha, who is known by many names, including Kamadeva, is the HIndu god of love and desire. Iconographically Manmatha is always shown holding a sugarcane bow with his left hand and floral arrows with his right hand.
On the right, there are two female figures, replications of those in the Bracket Figures. One of them is damaged.