As one steps onto the temple's sacrosanct platform, in a corner of the vast courtyard are tossed a golden horse and a temple chariot. The winged figure of Garuda, Lord Vishnu's carrier, stands at the entrance, facing the temple, its palms touching in homage. The main structure of the temple, which is a stellar, stands as a homogenous architectural unit on a raised platform. The entire structure with its intricate Filigree gleams like metal. Chloritic Schist, a light greenish soapstone, hard as granite was used to create the complex.
Every possible surface is covered with the most perfectly proportioned figures.
The main temple is surrounded by other small ones such as those of Soumyanayaki and Ranganayaki, beloved of Sri Chennakesava. There are also temples built for Narasimha, Anjaneya, etc. King Vishnuvardhana's senior queen Shantaladevi, a dance legend herself, built a temple in similar fashion to the main temple, which was called the Channigaraya temple. The surface of the temple exterior is intricately filled with horizontal friezes, sculptured in succession from the bottom. Stories from the Puranas, Upanishads and other mythological stories have been executed in the most authentic way.