Chandramouleshwara Temple, Unkal, Hindu temple in Unkal, Karnataka, India

Chandramouleshwara Temple is a Hindu shrine with detailed stone carving on pillars, walls, and doorjambs showing deities and religious motifs from ancient traditions. The building has four entrances aligned to cardinal directions leading to a square sanctuary at its center.

The temple was built in the 11th century during the reign of the Chalukya dynasty, a time of major construction activity across southern India. Its design with four entrances reflects the building methods typical of that period and region.

The temple is still in worship use today. Its name links it to Chandramauleshwara, a form of Shiva, and local tradition also calls it Chaturlingeshwara after the four-faced linga. Two Nandi figures stand at the doorways, and the moved Chaturmukha linga now sits on the western side.

The temple stands about 1 km from Unkal Lake, east of it, in Unkal within the Hubli-Dharwad municipality; turn off the old NH 4 (NH 67) near the lake and follow the lane to the site. It is easy to miss, so ask locally for the Chandramouleshwara temple. The ASI compound wall remains unfinished, and worship still takes place inside.

The building follows a rare structural plan with four equal access points to the central sanctuary, a feature uncommon in regional architecture of that era. This symmetric layout with its individual decorative details makes it an interesting example of specialized temple-building techniques from the medieval period.