Ruminations - Travel: Badami Caves - Cradle of Hindu Temple architecture

If Hampi fascinated me- towns of Badami and nearby Aihole and Pattadakkal left me amused- I mean temples, rock cut halls ( caves ) , pillared verandas , rock cut statues - galore. Visiting Badami was pretty high on my list of places to visit - in southern India.. Am sure every travel junkie has a list which is edited from time to time and crossed out once the target is fulfilled.

Badami is a small town in the Bagalkot district in northern part of Karnataka, India. This small town was the capital of the early Chalukyas who ruled much of Karnataka between the 6th and the 8th C .The Chalukya artists experimented with different styles- blending both the Aryan and the Dravidian styles and out came the Chalukya style.The original experimentation took place at Aihole which gave birth to evolved structures at Badami and Pattadakal.

Aihole- this is where it all began..featured here is Durga Temple

Aihole is about 40 km from Badami. The road goes via Chimmalgi village- though picturesque can be difficult to drive on during the rainy season. Potholed in many places. the road disappears all together in certain stretches and is muddy and slushy during the rains.

picturesque countryside enroute Aihole from Badami

Drive from Badami to Aihole

As I stated earlier much of the experimentation and the doodling happened here. Learning from Aihole were implemented in other places. Aihole houses over 125 temples divided into 22 groups. It is a quaint picturesque village on the banks of Malaprabha river. The temples are scattered over the entire village and nearby fields.I would suggest hiring a Government approved guide here. Makes sense as otherwise very difficult to follow how the grading in architecture evolved . Also the symbolism etc. can only be clarified by them. Goes without saying that always prudent to do some research before visiting any area, particularly a historical one. Follows are the camera clicks at the Aihole complex :

Stepping inside Durga Temple

A pillar relief at the Durga temple

Durga temple mantapa (hall)..our guide in the backdrop

Me and hubby mesmerized by the intricate carvings

Reminds of me of pillars @Hallebidu except this is sandstone

Lad Khan temple, Aihole

Inside Lad Khan temple- Dedicated to Shiva so Nandi

Now, the plan was to move to Pattadakal. This is now a World Heritage site. This is again on the banks of Malaprabha river and about 10 km. from Aihole. Both these are visited together. By the time we entered the complex it had begun to rain heavily. The entire complex was awash with rain water and added manifolds to the charm of the place. People took refuge inside the complex building but I continued to traverse the place armed with an umbrella. Amazing experience..felt transported to another era altogether.

Snapshot of history inscription outside Pattadakal

Now, the pictorial journey :

Entrance to the enchanting Pattadakal complex

Raindrops are falling on my head!!

Beautiful Pattadakal complex rain washed

Better get that umbrella out- @ the Kashi Vishwanatha Temple

I can see an improvement in the architecture from Aihole to Pattadakal

Beautifully carved Sangameshvara temple

Beheaded Nandi

The rains made the roads difficult to drive on. So we decided to head back to Badami which was our base for travel to cover this circuit. The plan was to cover Aihole and Pattadakal on one day and reserve the next for Badami caves. There are many people who do the entire circuit in one day but we had decided to split this up. The rains had made us hungry and went back to our hotel for hot tea and snacks.

Let me share our hotel details :

Hotel Mayura chalukya ( unit of KSTDC)

Phone numbers: 08357220046/ 8970650024

The staff was friendly and ever ready to help. The hotel is spread over a large area and would recommend this place.

Another good staying option we discovered was Badami court. This is where the unit shooting for Rowdy Rathore had stayed. Infact all movies shot in this region make this hotel as their base. The owner was friendly and we chatted with him for a while. Lunch/breakfast - we had in this hotel. Food was tasty and the staff very attentive.

The following day was dedicated to Badami cave exploration- raison d'etre for this trip. The cave system is made / carved out of soft sandstone and they exist at the drop of a hill. The cave system comprise of 4 distinct cave temples out of which 3 belong to the Hindu religion and one is dedicated to the Jains. This cave temple structures have rock cut halls with three basic features: pillared veranda, columned hall and a sanctum cut out deep into rock. The caves are interconnected and the ensuing cave can be accessed by climbing a flight of steps. Though we had the full day allocated for the exploration, it will not take more than 2-3 hours to complete the entire round. It is a well maintained structure.

Hill structure supporting the cave system

Lets take a look at all the 4 caves :

CAVE 1 : This was probably the first cave to be constructed ( circa 550 AD )and a flight of about 40 steps would take you to the columned verandah . Inside is a huge hall with numerous pillars with intricately carved and decorated walls. The main attraction here is the Nataraja with 18 arms which can be viewed with 81 dance poses (would need a guide to explain this). This cave is dedicated to Shiva . Shiva in various forms adorns the roof and walls.

Flight of steps leading to cave 1

Dancing statue of Nataraja with 18 arms (demonstrating 9 Bharaatnatya poses)

Nandi

Harihara(composite form of Shiva/Vishnu ) flanked by consorts Parvati and Lakshmi

Ardhanarishvara(composite form of Shiva/Parvati) flanked by richly decorated Parvati , Bhringi and Nandi

CAVE 2 : This cave is dedicated to Vishnu. Different forms and shapes of Vishnu can be found here.

Let's discover this pictorially.

Steps leading from Cave 1 to Cave 2

Cave 2

Lord Vishnu

Lord Vishnu is shown as Trivikrama. The artists try to portrays Vishnu with one foot conquering the earth and the other covering the sky

Vishnu displayed as Varaha, the boar incarnation

CAVE 3 : A further climb leads to Cave 3, another masterpiece dedicated to Vishnu. I found this cave to be the most mesmerizing. The carvings and sculptures provide an insight into the culture and lifestyle of the 6th C such as costume, jewellery, hairstyle etc.

One is too taken in and keeps clicking away to glory..take a look at the pictures and you will know what I mean

Steps leading from Cave 2 to 3

Posing for the camera in front of Cave 3

Trivikrama

Relief of seated Vishnu

Narasimha (Vishnu in form of man lion)

Narasimha (Vishnu in the form of man lion)

As you can see Lord Vishnu has been depicted in various avtars..truly an amazing job done by the Chalukya artisans.

CAVE 4 : This is the only natural cave and is also the only Jain temple at Badami. A statue of the 24th C Tirthankara, Lord Mahavira , Lord Parsavnath can be seen here.