This serial property encompasses the three most representative examples of Hoysala-style temple complexes in southern India, dating from the 12th to 13th centuries. The Hoysala style was created through careful selection of contemporary temple features and those from the past to create a different identity from neighbouring kingdoms. The shrines are characterized by hyper-real sculptures and stone carvings that cover the entire architectural surface, a circumambulatory platform, a large-scale sculptural gallery, a multi-tiered frieze, and sculptures of the Sala legend. The excellence of the sculptural art underpins the artistic achievement of these temple complexes, which represent a significant stage in the historical development of Hindu temple architecture.

The Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas is a serial property comprised of the three most representative Hoysala-style temple complexes constructed between the 12th and 13th centuries in the present State of Karnataka, namely the Channakeshava Temple in Belur, the Hoysalesvara Temple in Halebidu, and the Keshava Temple in Somanathapura.

Through the careful selection of temple features from the past kingdoms and their integration with those of contemporary temples in southern India, the architects and artists created a new style of temple and, through that process, helped forge a distinct identity for the Hoysala kingdom. The Hoysala-style is a combination of several features, including a stellate sanctum, a circumambulatory platform following the shape of the sanctum, a multi-tiered frieze, a thematically arranged sculptural gallery of religious, epic, and other stories along the circumambulatory platform, extensive sculptures and stone carvings that cover the entire exterior surface, and sculptures of the legend of Sala killing a tiger serving as the quintessence of the temples. This style successfully set the Hoysala temples apart from those of other contemporary kingdoms and dynasties.

The numerous signatures left by the artists who created these Hoysala-style temples – an unusual practice in the Indian subcontinent – points to their high degree of artistic agency and the prestigious standing they enjoyed in Hoysala society.