File:11th century Trikuteshvara temple, Gadag, Karnataka India - 70.jpg

English: The Trikuteshvara – also spelled Trikutesvara or Trikuteshwara temple – is one of the several profusely and intricately carved historic Hindu and Jain temples in Gadag region of Karnataka,. It is close to National Highway 67, between Goa and Hampi (200 kilometers east of Goa and 100 kilometers west of Hampi).

This temple complex attracted much admiration from colonial era archaeologists and scholars. James Fergusson considered it the most complete illustration of the Chalukya architecture, while Jas Burgess admired the exquisite details and finish of the 11th and 12th century Hindu artwork here.

• The Trikuteshvara temple is within a compound, co-located with the Saraswati temple and a temple water tank. It is the larger of the two and opens east, while the Saraswati temple is the smaller one and opens to the north. The compound has many inscriptions that help date the temple and its expansion.
• The original Trikuteshvara temple was completed around 1040 CE. This consisted of sanctum with Vimana (spire), a smaller mandapa, the east and south entrances into the temple. Thereafter, the temple was expanded. A larger mandapa and a western sanctum with Vimana was added. A third shrine, axially aligned to the Trikuteshwara, was added as the Saraswati temple to the south side of Trikuteshvara temple. The extant temples complex was likely complete by the early 12th-century.
• The Trikuteshwara contrasts with the Saraswati temple in its inside, with Trikuteshvara being plain yet robust and spacious looking inside. In contrast, the Saraswati temple is intricately carved with numerous fine, miniaturized details depicting gods, goddesses, Hindu legends, kama, artha and dharma scenes. Trikuteshwara is more closed with light entering through perforated stone screen (stone jali) windows, while the Saraswati temple is more open. The outer walls of both temples are beautifully carved, though they show signs of erosion as well as significant deliberate mutilation, defacement and damage from post-12th century wars.
• The temple's expansion can be discerned by mandapa and entrances leading into another mandapa with Gaja-Lakshmi on the lintel.
• The artwork at Trikuteshvara show Vedic deities (Indra, Varuna, Agni and others), the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) and the Shaiva-Vaishnava-Shakti deities depicted through the Epic and Purana legends. For cultural studies, the artwork at Trikuteshvara and Saraswati temples depict yogi, yoginis, dancers, musicians, the numerous styles of jewelry, clothing, dresses, hairdo, daily lives and festive community events.
• The Trikuteshvara sanctum has three Shiva-lingas on a single foundation (pitha). This gives this temple the name Trikuteshvara (the Lord of three mountains).
• The earliest dated inscription found in this temple is from 1036–1037 CE.
• This temple hosted Chandrabhushana Pandita, a sala (school) and his Hindu monastery here; he was a revered teacher of the medieval era Kalamukha subtradition of Shaivism.
• Parts of this temple such as the Vimana are recent restoration. It is an active temple.

Gadag is a small town in Karnataka (sometimes called Gadag-Betageri, by the twin town designation). Between the 9th and 12th-century, it was the location of a growing, large city with numerous Hindu and Jain temples. Many inscriptions and literary references mention Gadag with alternate names: Gadugu, Galadugu, Kratuka, Kratapura and Kardugu. Several major dynasties helped build a galaxy of Hindu and Jain temples in and around Gadag region. These include the Rashtrakuta, Western Chalukya, Kalachuris, Yadavas and Hoysalas. The historic Gadag city reduced and dissolved into history as the region came under intense Sultanate era raids, wars and related destruction, and political turmoil. Gadag region was mostly a forgotten rural area specked with dozens of abandoned ruins in the 1880s when Henry Cousens visited it. The Gadag region is growing again.

The co-located Saraswati temple and this temple complex are one of the national monuments of India, protected and managed by ASI Dharwad circle, as N-KA-D234.