.
Note: The list of all my blogs has been compiled and can be seen at the link below. With a large number of blogs on my website, at times it is difficult to locate specific blogs.
.
Introduction
.
.
The region of Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal-Hampi is a destination that everyone has heard about, but not many have visited. One of the reasons for this laggardness is that travel connections are not very good and it takes a convoluted route involving a flight/train journey and then a long road trip in the end. I travelled by flight to the nearest convenient airport, Belgaum (now Belagavi), and from there it was about 4 hours by taxi (since patches of road were not good).
.
.
I undertook this trip with Ancient Trails, a Pune-based heritage-tour organisation, which is driven by its vision to make people explore the roots of Indian culture and experience the richness of our Indian heritage. The trip was accompanied by their founder, Girinath Bharade, a passionate Indologist and his passion and knowledge kept all of us engrossed throughout the week.
.
.
The Places Visited
.
The places we visited can be divided into two categories. Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal are essentially sites of ancient temples, amongst the precursors of formal temple architecture of Bharat. Hampi on the other hand was the capital of one of the greatest (and richest) empires in the world. Temples exist in abundance in and around Hampi, but the other grand structures of a powerful empire transport one to a different world.
.
.
The grandness of both these destinations is testified by the fact that they have been granted UNESCO World Heritage status.
.
Temple Architecture Development
.
The groups of monuments in Aihole and Badami represent the experimentation in Hindu cave and temple architecture under the Early Chalukya, developing fundamental prototypes for later temples in the sub-continent, the experiments which culminated at Pattadakal.
.
.
The monuments located in the town of Badami and villages of Aihole, Nagaral and Pattadakal, of Bagalkot district, along the Malprabha river is the contribution of the Eastern Chalukya Dynasty (6th– 8th century CE). Ruling over a vast culturally diverse expanse bound by Rivers Narmada and Kaveri on the North and South, this Dynasty patronised the development of diverse cultural forms. The focus on temple and cave art and architecture by the Badami-Chalukyas led to an unprecedented progression of both typologies. The temples at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal are the largest, earliest group of monuments that comprehensively demonstrate the evolution of Hindu rock-cut and temple architecture in India.
.
(Note: It owes its name due to its proximity to a fort or ‘Durg’ and not to Goddess Durga, which is a common misconception)
.
The skills and forms of rock architecture developed at existing art centres like Ajanta were applied and elaborated in the excavation of rock-cut cave temples at Aihole and Badami. While the earlier Hindu caves are rudimentary in design, those under the Early Chalukyas show adaptation of a temple plan on a much larger scale, implying the development of cave architecture. Experimentation in arriving at functionally viable prototypes at Aihole and Badami enabled the ultimate conceptualization of complex temple structures at Pattadakal.
.
The exquisite sculptures in the Durga Temple, Aihole
(L) Shiva with Nandi; (R) Durga as Mahisasuramardini
.
The prototypes of 16 types of free-standing temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines were developed in Badami and Aihole and matured in Pattadakal. The greatest contribution of the Early Chalukya civilization is illustrated in the evolution of the two principal temple shikhara types – the southern Dravida-vimana and the northern Rekha-nagara-prasada temples along with the type of Kadamba-Chalukya shikhara, through a series of consistent experimentations. In addition to these two types of plan-form, is the development of the apsidal one, an adoption of what is followed in a Buddhist chaitya combined with a rekha-prasada shikhara.
.
.
This transformed the Malaprabha river valley into a ‘Cradle of Temple Architecture’, where experimentation defined the components of a typical Hindu Temple and led to the crystallisation of canonical texts that governed all facets of temple construction and religious practices thereafter.[i]
.
Different shikhara styles experimented at Paddakal
.
This Blog
.
I will be covering the four places we visited in separate blogs since each has great significance historically and architecturally. The first blog is on Badami and it is the place we visited first (though it is not the oldest from the viewpoint of temple architecture development).
.
.
These places are unfortunately not directly accessible, especially for those coming from the north. I caught a flight to Belgavi (erstwhile Belgaum) and then took a three-and-a-half-hour road journey to Badami. On the return trip, I had to make the four-hour road journey from Badami to Hubbali.
.
Badami History
.
.
Badami, formerly known as Vātāpi (from Sanskrit root āpi, ‘friend, ally’; ‘having the wind (vāta) as an ally’), is in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 CE. It is famous for its rock-cut monuments such as the Badami cave temples, as well as the structural temples such as the Bhutanatha temples, Badami Shivalaya and Jambulingesvara Temple. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya Lake.[ii]
.
.
The Badami region was settled in pre-historic times, as is evidenced by megalithic dolmens. The town of Badami is linked to the Agastya legend of the epics. In the Mahabharata, the asura Vatapi would become a goat, be cooked by his brother Ilvala, and be eaten. Following this, he would recollect in the stomach and tear himself out from the inside of the victim, killing the victim. When the sage Agastya arrives, Ilvala offers the goat to him. However, Agastya, who is known for his enormous powers of ingestion and digestion, kills Vatapi by digesting the meal and giving Vatapi no time to recollect. Agastya thus kills the demons Vatapi and Ilvala. This legend is believed to have played out near Badami, hence the names Vatapi and Agasthya Lake.
.
.
In the 6th century, with the decline of the Gupta dynasty and their immediate successors in northern India, major changes began to happen in the area south of the Vindhyas – the Deccan and Tamilakam. The age of small kingdoms had given way to large empires in this region. The Chalukya dynasty was established by Pulakeshin I in 543. Pulakeshin I took Vatapi under his control and made it his capital in 570 CE. Pulakeshin I and his descendants are referred to as “Chalukyas of Badami”. They ruled over an empire that comprised the entire state of Karnataka and most of Andhra Pradesh in the Deccan.[iii]
.
.
Under the Badami Chalukyas, Badami emerged as one of the regional centres of art in the Malprabha valley – a cradle of Hindu and Jain temple architecture schools. Both Dravida and Nagara styles of temples are found in Badami, along with those in Aihole, Pattadakal and Mahakuta. Many of the temples in Badami, such as the Eastern Bhutanatha group and the Jambulingesvara temple, were built between the 6th and 8th centuries. They are key to understanding the development of temple architecture and arts, as well as the Karnata tradition of arts around the mid-1st millennium CE.
.
.
Badami is located at the base where two branches of the western edge of the rocky-crop of the Kaladgi range bifurcate. The town is dotted with numerous temples built during Early Chalukya and Rashtrakuta period. These comprise both rock-cut and free-standing temples. The cave temples are located at various elevations along the rocky outcrop. The four Caves are located on the northern face of the southern branch of the hillock. The caves follow a typical plan including an entrance porch, pillared mantapa and garbhagriha.
.
.
Subsequently, Badami and other sites in the Malprabha region were fought over by the Hindu monarchs of the Vijayanagara Empire and the Turko-Persian Sultans of Deccan. The Vijayanagara emperors commissioned expanded fort walls in Badami and elsewhere. Many ruins, the fort and some well-preserved temples in high hillocks survive and attest to the rich heritage of Badami and nearby sites from these centuries. The Turko-Persian sultanate rule that followed the Vijayanagara period Islamized the site.
.
.
The Temples
.
Our first visit was to the serene Agastya Teerth (lake) and the ASI museum on its northern shore. The road, actually it was hardly one, was heavily encroached and hardly had any space for a vehicle to drive through. Considering it to be a UNESCO World Heritage site, with a stream of visitors coming, the situation needs improvement.
.
.
Agastya Teertha & Badami Fort
.
How the lake came to be known as Agastya Teertha has been mentioned above. The Badami cave temples were visible across the lake on the rocky escarpment on the southern side. Next to the lake is the Badami Archaeological Museum.
.
.
The lake is surrounded by the rocky escarpment which provided an ideal site for building the fort along the ridgeline. Remnants of the walls still exist and are maintained reasonably well.
.
Badami Archaeological Museum[iv]
.
The museum is a treasure of pre-historic artefacts of the region including stone implements, sculptures, architectural parts, inscriptions, etc, dating from the 6th to 16th century CE. There are four well-furnished galleries, which include exhibits such as the attractively carved makara torana, Shiva represented as Kalari, Tripurantaka, Bhairava and Nataraja and Vishnu as Narasimha, and female divinities (Lajja-gauri, matrikās, Bhairavi and others). A rare line drawing of the paintings in Badami Cave-III is another important exhibit in the museum.
.
Sculptures at the Badami Archaeological Museum Badami – (L) Lajjagauri with a Lotus head (the Goddess of Fertility); (R) Tripurantaka Shiva
.
Pallava King Narasimhavarmman I’s Inscription
.
Slightly further ahead of the museum is the famous Pallava King Narasimhavarmman I’s inscription regarding the Pallava invasion of Badami on a large rock. The Battle of Vatapi was a decisive engagement that took place between the Pallavas and Chalukyas near the Chalukya capital of Vatapi (Badami) in 642. The battle resulted in the defeat of the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II in 642 CE and the commencement of Pallava occupation of Vatapi lasted until 654.
.
.
Bhutanatha Group of Temples
.
.
Walking further along the lake shore, we then reached the Bhutanatha group of temples. The temple is a well-known landmark representing Badami, beautifully located on the eastern waterfront, with the majestic rocky escarpment looming above it in the background. The oldest temple of the Bhutanatha main group (700–725 CE) is the main large temple.
.
.
It has a gudha-mandapa with four massive central pillars (partly octagonal, cubical and rounded on a lathe). This mandapa connects to a smaller square-plan sanctum with a Shiva linga. On the top of the sanctum is the Dravida-style tritala superstructure (three storeys). Most of the murtis are missing in the temple.
.
Badami Cave Temples[v]
.
The Badami cave temples are carved out of soft Badami sandstone on a hill cliff. The plan of each of the four caves (1 to 4) includes an entrance with a verandah (mukha mantapa) supported by stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of these caves, leading to a columned mantapa, or main hall (maha mantapa), and then to the small, square shrine (garbhagriha) cut deep inside the cave.
.
.
The cave temples are linked by a stepped path with intermediate terraces overlooking the town and lake. The cave temples are labelled 1–4 in their ascending series; this numbering does not reflect the sequence of excavation.
The architecture includes structures built in the Nagara and Dravidian styles, which is the first and most persistent architectural idiom to be adopted by the early Chalukyas.
.
Cave No. 1
.
.
Cave 1 is essentially a Shaivite cave and is accessed through a series of steps that depict carvings of dwarfish ganas in different postures as if they hold the cave floor. These ganas are a recurring feature at the entrances and below most sculptures in all the caves.
.
The details of the reliefs sculpted on the columns of the cave; the mandapa is visible behind the column in the left photograph
.
The verandah, with an inner measurement of 70 feet by 65 feet, has five columns sculpted with reliefs of flower garlands, foliage and jewellery.
.
.
At the entrance of the cave is the iconic Tandava-dancing Shiva as Nataraja on the rock face to the right. The image, 5 feet tall, has 18 arms in a form that expresses the dance positions (about 9×9=81 combinations in total) arranged in a geometric pattern. This is also supposed to represent the time division symbolizing the cosmic wheel. The eighteen arms express Natya mudras (hand gestures), with some holding objects such as drums, a flame torch, a serpent, a trident and an axe. The panel has Ganesha and Nandi by his side. The sculptors had excellent knowledge of the natya mudras of Bharatanatya.
.
.
On the right side of the Nataraja carving is a carving of Mahishasura mardini with Chaturbhuja (Chaturmeans 4, Bhuja means hands). The sculpture depicts the killing of the demon Mahishasura by Durga. Mahishasura was the son of Mahisi and great-grandson of Bhahmarishi Kashyapa.
.
.
On the left of the entrance is a two-handed Shaiva dvarapala who holds a trident, and below him is a bull-elephant fused image where they share a head; seen from the left is an elephant and from the right a bull.
.
.
Inside the veranda, the cave presents a carved sculpture of Harihara, a 7.75-foot high sculpture of a fused image that is half-Shiva and half-Vishnu. He is flanked by the goddesses Parvati and Lakshmi on each side.
.
.
To the right, toward the end of the wall, is a relief sculpture of Ardhanarishvara, a fused image of Shiva and his consort Parvati. One half of the image has Shiva with a moon on his mukuta (head), snakes in his hands, earrings and next to the half that represents Parvati is an attendant carrying a tray of jewels. Next to the Ardhanarishvara half that represents Shiva is Nandi the bull, and skeletal Bhringi, a devotee of Shiva. The Bhringi sculpture shows the advanced knowledge of the anatomy of the whole body which includes the skulls, ribs, and the bones on the hands and legs.
.
Carved panels adorn the ceiling
.
The roof of the cave has five carved panels with the central panel depicting the Nagaraja, with flying couples on both sides. There are also images of Vidyadhara couples as well as couples in courtship and erotic mithuna scenes.
.
Carvings on the pillars of the cave
.
In the mantapa is a seated Nandi facing the garbha griha containing a Shiva linga.
.
Cave No. 2
.
The meditating dvarapalas of Cave No. 2
.
This cave has Vaishnavite influence with panels of Trivikrama & Bhuvaraha. It was created in the late 6th or early 7th century. It is smaller than Cave 1, but somewhat similar in terms of its floor plan. Cave 2 is reached by climbing 64 steps from the first cave.
.
.
The cave entrance is a verandah divided by four square pillars with ends as half pillars, all carved out of the monolithic stone face. The pillars have decorative carvings with friezes of ganas with various facial expressions. On the two sides of the entrance are dvarapalas holding flowers, not weapons. Like Cave 1, Cave 2 art reflects Hindu theology and the arts.
.
Roof panels: (L) Wheel with sixteen fish spokes; (R) Swastiks interlinked
.
The main hall in the cave is 33.33 feet wide, 23.583 feet deep, and 11.33 feet high and is supported by eight square pillars in two rows. The roof of this hall has panels filled with bas-relief carvings. The ceiling of Cave 2 shows a wheel with sixteen fish spokes in a square frame. The end bays have a flying couple and Vishnu on Garuda.
.
.
The largest relief in Cave 2 depicts Vishnu in his Trivikrama avatar, taking one of the three steps. Below the raised step is a frieze showing the legend of Vamana dwarf avatar of Vishnu, before he morphs into the Trivikrama form.
.
.
Another major relief shows the legend of Vishnu in his Varaha (boar) avatar rescuing goddess Earth (Bhudevi) from the depths of the cosmic ocean, with a penitent multi-headed Nāga below. Like other major murtis in this and other Badami caves, the Varaha artwork is set in a circle and symmetrically laid out; according to Alice Boner, the panel is an upright rectangle whose “height is equal to the octopartite directing circle and sides are aligned to essential geometric ratios, in this case to the second vertical chord of the circle”.
.
.
On the ceilings are carvings of Anantasayana, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva & other Ashtadikpalas. The walls and ceiling have traces of coloured paint, suggesting the cave was initially covered with fresco paintings.
.
Carvings on the roof panels: (Above) Sagarmanthan; (Below) A jungle scene
.
The sculptures of Cave 2, like Cave 1, are of the northern Deccan style of the 6th and 7th century similar to that found in Ellora Caves.
.
Ceiling motifs on the mandapa
.
Cave No. 3
.
.
Cave 3 is the earliest dated Hindu temple in the Deccan region. It is dedicated to Vishnu; it is the largest cave in the complex. It is up 60 steps from Cave No. 2. The cave artworks, in some cases, show the artists’ signatures, as well as a major inscription – an Old Kannada inscription of Chalukya King Mangalesha dated 578 CE in this cave. This and other epigraphical evidence suggest that the cave temple was inaugurated on the “full moon day, 1 November 578”.
.
The open verandah with Anantashyana Vishnu (on the left) and Narsimha (on the right). The ceilings are elaborately carved and were originally covered with frescoes
.
Cave 3’s verandah is 70 feet in length with an interior width of 65 feet; it has been sculpted 48 feet deep into the mountain; an added square shrine at the end extends the cave 12 feet further inside. The verandah itself is 7 feet wide and has four free-standing, carved pillars separating it from the hall. The cave is 15 feet high and it is supported by six pillars. Each column and pilaster is carved with wide, deep bases crowned with capitals that are partly hidden by brackets on three sides.
.
.
Each bracket, except for one, has carvings of human figures standing under foliage in different postures, of male and female mythological characters, and an attendant figure of a dwarf. A moulded cornice in the facia, with a dado of blocks below it (generally 7 feet long), has about thirty compartments carved with two sets of ganas.
.
.
Vishnu is presented in various avatars and forms through intricately carved friezes and giant figures, such as a standing Ashtabhuja Vishnu (with eight arms).
.
.
Anantasayana Vishnu seated on the hooded serpent Shesha on the eastern side of the veranda; Vishnu as standing Narasimha (lion avatar); Vishnu as Varaha (boar avatar) rescuing earth; Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu); and Trivikrama-Vamana avatars.
.
Couples adorn the pillar brackets
.
The back wall has carvings of Vidhyadharas. The cave shows many Kama scenes in pillar brackets, where a woman and a man are in courtship or mithuna embrace.
.
Bas-reliefs on the ceiling (Note: The caves were originally covered with coloured frescos); (L) 4-armed Vishnu is surrounded by the Ashta Dikpalas(guardians of the 8 directions) while Garuda is seen on the eaves; (R) 4-armed Brahma seated on his vahana, the hansa, surrounded by devas.
.
Cave 3 also shows fresco paintings on the ceiling, most of which are faded and broken. These are among the earliest known surviving evidence of fresco painting in Indian art. Brahma is seen astride his vahana, Hamsa, in one of the murals. The wedding of Shiva and Parvati, attended by various Hindu deities is the theme of another.
.
Details of carvings of the verandah and pillars
.
There is a lotus medallion on the floor underneath the ceiling mural of Brahma.
.
.
The roof of the verandah has seven panels created by cross beams; each is painted in circular compartments with images of deities including Shiva, Vishnu, Indra, Brahma and Kama, with smaller images of Dikpalas (guardians of the cardinal directions) at the corners.
.
.
Cave No. 4
.
.
Cave 4 floor is situated about 10 feet lower and is the smallest of the four. It is dedicated to Tirthankaras, the revered figures of Jainism. It was constructed after the first three, sponsored by Hindu kings in the later part of the 7th century.
.
Detailed friezes adorn the walls of the cave
.
Like the other caves, Cave 4 features detailed carvings and a diverse range of motifs. The cave has a five-bayed entrance with four square columns – each with brackets and capitals. To the back of this verandah is a hall with two standalone and two joined pillars. The first aisle is a verandah 31 feet long by 6.5 feet wide, extending to 16 feet deep. From the hall, steps lead to the sanctum sanctorum, which is 25.5 feet wide and extends to a depth of 6 feet.
.
.
Inside the cave are major carvings of Bahubali, Parshvanatha and Mahavira with symbolic displays of the other Tirthankaras. Bahubali is standing in Kayotsarga meditating posture with vines wrapped around his leg, his classic iconography. Parshvanatha is shown with the five-headed cobra hood. Mahavira is represented as sitting on a lion’s throne.
.
Jain deities are depicted in intricately carved panels
.
Other Caves/Sculptures
.
.
Walking a bit further along the lake is a small shrine consisting of a 7th century rock carving of Anantashayana Vishnu, or reclining Vishnu with Lakshmi and Garuda in namaste posture. Vishnu is shown restarting the cosmic cycle by giving birth to all of existence. Above the reclining carved relief are the ten avatars of Vishnu – Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki. Between the Narasimha and Vamana is shown relief of Brahma cord connected to Vishnu’s navel. To the left of the relief is depicted the Trinity – Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, while to the right is a human couple and a mother cow with a calf feeding.
.
.
Here there is also a series of sculptures on a large rock, in the open. They provide a beautiful setting for the setting sun. We halted here to watch the sunset across the lake in all its myriad colours.
.
.
Kudal Sangam
.
Two beautifully carved dvarapalas greet devotees to the temple complex
.
Though Kudala Sangama is not located in Badami, I am covering our visit to this place here since it was part of the itinerary during visits to Badami sites. The place has two major holy sites adjacent to each other. One is the holy pilgrim centre and the renowned temple of Sangameshwara, and the other is the samadhi of Basaveshvara, which is located in a huge well-like structure, below the water level. The original linga was in front of the temple on a rock at the confluence of the rivers, but once the dam was built, the water level rose.
.
.
Kudala Sangama is an important centre of pilgrimage for Lingayats. It is located about 15 kilometres from the Almatti Dam in Bagalkote. The Krishna and Malaprabha River rivers merge here and flow east towards Srisailam (in Andhra Pradesh). The Aikya Mantapa or the holy Samādhi of Basavanna, the founder of the Lingayatism along with Linga, which is self-born (Swayambhu), is here.[vi]
.
Exquisite carvings decorate the lathe-turned granite pillars in the mandapa
.
An inscription in the temple dated 1213 CE records a gift to the god Acheshvara. Another stone record of 1160 CE refers to land grants to the deities, Kaleshvara and Achesvara.
.
.
It is believed that in the 12th century, Jathaveda Muni Sarangamath had set up an education centre here and Basaveshvara, Channabasavanna and Akkanagamma were students. Basaveshvara spent his boyhood here and, after his return from Kalyana, attained the status of a saint. He was a true visionary of his time and a social reformer and revolutionary who started the Lingayat sect.
.
.
Basavanna’s ultimate aim was to make this fundamental right available to everyone. Basavanna, keeping welfare as the ultimate aim, expedited programmes to take religion to the people by preaching and writing religious literature in Kannada.
.
.
The entrance into the complex is through an imposing 200-foot Basava Gopura. The Sanhamanatha Temple is built during the Kalyana Chaluka era.
.
.
The location on the banks of the two mighty rivers gives it a serene and soothing environment, with several ancient banyan trees on the river bank providing the perfect opportunity to imbibe the calmness of the holy site.
.
.
Conclusion
.
.
The Badami cave temples represent some of the earliest known examples of Hindu temples in the Deccan region, of which Cave 3, a Vaishnava temple, is dated accurately to 578 CE. The cave temples of Badami have played a significant part in the process of evolution of Early Chalukyan temple architecture. The temples bear testimony to the Early Chalukya dynasty (6th – 8th century CE) whose rule was characterised by prosperity, political stability and religious tolerance and facilitated the assimilation of diverse cultural forms, best reflected in the field of art and architecture. They unified a large geo-culturally diverse area and oversaw the convergence of myriad knowledge and techniques in the field of temple construction. The kings of this dynasty were called Umapati Varlabdh and built many temples for Shiva.
.
Cave No. 3: Ceiling panels carved to perfection. They were originally painted, portions of the frescoes are still visible
.
While the earlier Hindu caves are rudimentary in design, those under the Early Chalukyas progressed the temple plans on a much larger scale and with greater elaboration. Considered the cradle of Indian temple architecture, the power and spiritual capitals of Early Chalukyas of Badami witnessed two centuries of experiments that manifested in the evolution and formalisation of the architectonics and aesthetics of free-standing Hindu temple architecture.
.
Pillars with different designs line the porch (verandah)
.
The Chalukya era may be seen as the beginning of the fusion of cultures of northern and southern India, making way for the transmission of ideas between the two regions. This is seen clearly in the field of architecture. The Chalukyas spawned the Vesara style of architecture which includes elements of the northern nagara and southern dravida styles.
.
.
References
.
[i] Evolution of Temple Architecture – Aihole-Badami- Pattadakal https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5972/
[ii] Badami https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badami
[iii] Chalukya Dynasty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalukya_dynasty
[iv] Badami Museum http://www.asidharwadcircle.in/badami-museum/
[v] Badami cave temples https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badami_cave_temples#See_also
[vi] Kudalasangama https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudalasangama
.
.
Note: All photographs displayed above are my exclusive property and copyright; their use is prohibited without explicit consent, in writing.
.
2 Responses
Great compilation and write up – keen to connect with you – I have been travelling for over 10 years and my interests have been Pallavas, Cholas, chalukyas , rashtrakutas , Pandyas, cheras , hoysalas and Vijayanagara. Tanjavoor , kanchipuram,Madurai – plus Trinelveli are my core interests
Thanks. You can message me at [email protected]